Konoha Mission: P1 Grand Prix
by Ulrich362
Summary: When Naruto is sent to investigate a strange report, he comes across a group of people with powers the likes of which he never imagined, and a person he won't ever forget. Can he master how to use the power his new allies have, and solve the mystery? Or will he fall along with everyone else?
1. The midnight channel returns

The Knuckleheaded Ninja's Arena

By Ulrich362

"Labrys, are you sure about this?" Naruto asked turning to the silver haired girl next to him. "I know that I need to give her the report but you don't have to explain things, I know they're painful for you."

"I know Naruto, but you did so much to help me, and you're going to do so much more once we find out who was responsible." Labrys said with a smile. "Still, thanks for caring."

"We're friends, that's just what they do." Naruto said happily. "Plus we have something in common so there's no way I'd just leave you alone."

"You're right, with everyone helping out things will work out without anyone getting hurt again." Labrys said looking down sadly.

"You're right, and Labrys it wasn't your fault. You just wanted someone to understand what you went through." Naruto said gently squeezing her hand and giving her a reassuring smile while looking into her red eyes. "Well let's go in."

"Right, well let's get this over." Labrys said nervously opening the door to the Hokage's office.

"Naruto, who is this?" Tsunade asked smirking. "Oh I understand congratulations you two."

The moment Tsunade said that Labrys looked down and blushed faintly.

"Hold on, things are really complicated." Naruto said defensively. "You remember the mission I've been on for the past few months?" (1)

"Of course I do." Tsunade said pulling out a paper from her desk. "There were reports of unusual activity in Inaba last year, and there was evidence that something was happening there again, you were assigned to look into it and report if you found anything unusual."

"You could say I found something unusual, but it's a long story." Naruto said. "It's not over yet though."

With those words Naruto nodded towards Labrys with a supportive smile.

"Lady Tsunade right?" Labrys asked nervously.

"Yes, I'm the hokage of the hidden leaf village." Tsunade said calmly. "Would mind if I asked your name?"

"Well, my name is Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon Labrys, but I just go by Labrys since it's easier." Labrys said modestly. "I actually just met Naruto recently but he's helped me a lot in just a few days."

"Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon?" Tsunade asked. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I'm not a human, I'm a robot that was given a personality so I could fight with my persona, Ariadne." Labrys said. "This axe isn't just for show."

"I see, Naruto I think you should fill me in on what exactly happened during your mission." Tsunade said seriously. "I have a feeling this involves more than you've told me in your brief message."

"Right, well I guess I should start from the beginning." Naruto said. "This might take a while.

"That's fine." Tsunade said calmly.

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"_Hey Naruto, do you want to meet up at Junes later to celebrate golden week?" Yosuke asked._

"_Sure thing Yosuke." Naruto said glancing towards the brown haired boy. "So am I finally going to get to meet the famous partner of yours that singlehandedly changed the lives of nearly everyone in Inaba?"_

"_Well, last I heard he'd be here tomorrow so yeah." Yosuke said with a grin. "Oh yeah do you mind letting Kanji know where we're meeting, I need to take care of something at the store."_

"_No problem, I'll let him know for you." Naruto said. "See you later Yosuke."_

"_See you Naruto." Yosuke said while putting on the headphones he wore around his neck._

_This doesn't make any sense; nobody is doing anything unusual, Naruto thought. "This is getting ridiculous, I might as well just meet this Yu Narukami and then head back to the village. I could be training or doing useful missions."_

"_Did you say something Naruto?" Yukiko asked._

"_Oh nothing Yukiko, just thinking to myself." Naruto said to the girl in front of him. "You know I'm sure people have mentioned this but that red sweater really looks nice on you. Honestly the same thing is true about Chie and her green sweater."_

"_Wow, you really know how to charm people." Chie said with a smile. "You're going to make some girl very happy."_

"_I'm just being honest, well I need to go let Kanji know we're meeting at Junes." Naruto said. "See you guys later."_

"_Alright, see you later Naruto." Yukiko said as he walked out of the classroom. _

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"_Hey Naruto, what's up?" Kanji asked. "Is someone looking for me or something?"_

"_No, Yosuke just asked me to let you know that we're going to meet up at Junes to celebrate golden week starting." Naruto said to the taller blonde._

"_Gotcha, alright I'm guessing you're heading home Naruto?" Kanji asked._

"_Yeah, I should head to the Inn." Naruto said. "I'm just lucky that Yukiko let me stay at her families inn during the school year."_

"_You've got a point Naruto, well see you later bud." Kanji said with a smile._

"_See you later Kanji." Naruto said._

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"_Hey did you guys hear about the midnight channel being back?" asked a girl in a Yasogami uniform._

"_Yeah, I saw it last night." said another girl. "What was that all about though, our sempai fighting each other?"_

"_Excuse me, what are you two talking about?" Naruto asked calmly._

"_Oh Naruto-sempai, you moved after it ended so you don't know about the midnight channel." said the first girl. "Well last year it was a thing that people watched to find out who their soul mate was, but it stopped airing just before school ended."_

"_Well, until a few days ago that is." said the second girl. "It's started again, but this time it's just advertising this weird fighting tournament."_

"_Yeah, you can see it tonight." the first girl said. "Just look into a TV at midnight, even though it's off it should show you the midnight channel."_

"_Cool, thanks I might take a look." Naruto said thoughtfully. I wonder if this midnight channel is related to what happened here, well I guess there's only one way to find out, he thought while walking back to the Amagi Inn._

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"_Oh Naruto-kun, welcome back." said a woman in a kimono._

"_Thank you Kasai-san." Naruto said. "I think I'm going to head to my room, I'm feeling tired right now."_

"_I understand completely, rest up Naruto." Kasai said with a smile._

"_Right, don't worry, I'll be alright." Naruto said before walking towards his room. Ok now to see what this midnight channel thing is, he thought calmly._

"_Oh Naruto can I ask you something very quickly?" Yukiko asked hesitantly._

"_Sure, what's on your mind Yukiko?" Naruto asked._

"_Well, I was helping Kasai-san clean the rooms and I noticed this in yours." Yukiko said before holding out Naruto's pouch._

_Crap; I thought I hid that where nobody could find it, Naruto thought nervously. "Oh, it's just something from my home. I just brought it so I'd have something from there." he said defensively._

"_The bag isn't the problem, it's well can you come with me?" Yukiko asked nervously._

"_Sure, is something wrong?" Naruto asked while following Yukiko into her room._

"_The bag was full of weapons, very dangerous weapons." Yukiko said gesturing to her desk._

"_Oh, yeah those are mine." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry, I know how they work."_

"_Naruto-kun, you could be arrested for having these." Yukiko said. "You should send them home and just keep the bag."_

_I can't just send my tools away; I might need them Naruto thought. "Alright, I'll get in touch and let them know I need someone to pick them up." he said. "You shouldn't just put these in a box, some of these can be poisonous."_

_While saying that, Naruto began putting his ninja tools back in his pouch._

"_Naruto, you're hiding something aren't you?" Yukiko asked. "You can trust me."_

"_I know, and you can trust me. I promise everything will be alright." Naruto said._

"_Ok, but just be careful Naruto." Yukiko said calmly._

"_Oh yeah, I overheard something on the way here." Naruto said suddenly. "Do you know anything about the midnight channel?"_

_The moment he said that, Yukiko froze. "Did you say midnight channel?"_

"_Yeah, some girls from school were talking about seeing it last night." Naruto said. "Do you know anything about it?"_

"_Just that is stopped airing last year." Yukiko said quickly. "I need to go make a phone call, I'll see you tomorrow."_

"_Right, see you tomorrow Yukiko." Naruto said just before she walked out of the room. What's she hiding, and what is the midnight channel anyway, he thought, well there's only one way to find out Transform._

_Suddenly a cloud of smoke surrounded Naruto and when it faded he was gone._

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"_Chie, I need to talk to you about something really important." Yukiko said urgently._

_Chie, what could they be talking about, Naruto thought before flying onto the wall. _(2)

"_No, it's not that." Yukiko said. "Naruto-kun told me that the midnight channel is back, but didn't we get rid of it last year?"_

_Get rid of it, what does that mean, Naruto thought._

"_I know, we should meet up at our special headquarters when he arrives." Yukiko said. "If something is going on there we need to take care of it soon."_

_Something very strange is going on, I should go with her tomorrow, Naruto thought before flying out of the room._

"_Right, see you tomorrow Chie." Yukiko said before hanging up._

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"_It's almost time, so let's see just what this midnight channel is." Naruto said calmly._

'_Naruto, be careful. Something very dangerous is going to happen.' Kurama said._

"_I know, but we can handle this as long as we work together Kurama." Naruto said just before the television began to glow. "Well, this is it."_

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"Naruto, this is all well and good but so far nothing seems to be out of the ordinary." Tsunade said calmly. "Apart from a strange advertisement for a fighting competition I don't see how this has anything to do with the reports we received."

"It does, because there's more to the midnight channel." Labrys said quickly. "A lot more."

"She's right, it was a whole different world." Naruto said. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself."

"A different world, are you saying someone is using the television to project a genjutsu?" Tsunade asked.

"No, this is nothing like a genjutsu." Naruto said. "Though after watching the midnight channel I did notice something slightly odd."

"Odd in what way Naruto?" Tsunade asked. "Should the village be informed about this?"

"No, it's just I noticed a figure in the background." Naruto said. "It's a good thing I did too, but that's when things started spinning out of control."

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"_Oh Naruto, is something wrong?" Yukiko asked calmly._

"_Yeah, it's just we were going to meet up at Junes today remember?" Naruto asked. "I was going to finally meet Yu in person."_

"_Oh yeah, I'm sure you'll get along." Yukiko said while picking up a bag. "He's the person you just have to like."_

"_Everyone's been saying that." Naruto said with a grin. "I can't wait to meet him."_

"_Naruto, why are you carrying that bag with you?" Yukiko asked suddenly._

"_You mean my pouch, well I told you that I heard about that midnight channel thing." Naruto said. "I just thought if there's some kind of fighting competition and you all have weapons I should at least have something to defend myself."_

"_Naruto, those are extremely dangerous." Yukiko said. "I know it's hard to believe but why would I fight Chie, or any of my friends?"_

"_I don't know, but it's just a safety thing." Naruto said. "Plus if something does happen I can help you guys stop whoever is hosting this tournament."_

"_It's probably a joke, you don't need to worry Naruto-kun." Yukiko said. "We should get going."_

"_Right behind you Yukiko." Naruto said politely._

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"_There she is, Yukiko we're over here." Chie said. "Oh, Naruto-kun what are you doing here?"_

"_We planned on meeting up at Junes today remember." Naruto said calmly before noticing a silver haired boy wearing a Yasogami high uniform. "You must be Yu, I've heard quite a bit about you."_

"_It's nice to meet you, I'm actually detective Dojima's nephew so I'm staying at his house during Golden Week." Yu said calmly. "We were just talking about the midnight channel, is someone trying to make people fight?"_

"_Well if they are those nicknames were definitely supposed to anger you guys, Captain Ressentiment, the Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor, the Carnivore who's discarded Womanhood." Naruto said. "Someone must really want to make you guys furious enough to hurt each other."_

"_Maybe, still where are the others?" Yu asked calmly. "I would have thought they would be here."_

"_None of us have heard anything from Teddie, Kanji, or Rise since last night." Yosuke said._

"_Plus Naoto-kun is on a case right now but she said she'd try and call if she gets a chance." Yukiko said calmly._

"_Right, so are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Chie asked._

"_Yeah, Naruto could you do me a huge favor?" Yukiko asked suddenly._

"_No, I can tell from his eyes." Yu said before looking at Naruto. "You won't leave this alone until you get answers will you?"_

_He really is as quick as they said, Naruto thought, I can see why people like him. "You're right, there's something going on and I intend to find out what it is."_

"_I thought so, alright come on this is something you'll need to see to believe." Yu said calmly._

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"_This is it, Naruto you're going to need to hold on tight." Yu said calmly._

"_Hold on for what?" Naruto asked. "That's just a TV."_

"_Watch and learn." Yosuke said before jumping through the TV screen._

"_No way, how did he do that?" Naruto asked in shock. _

"_You wanted to know what's going on, well the answers are in there." Yu said. "Hold on, we're going in."_

_The moment he said that Yu and Naruto jumped into the television._

"_What's going on, it's so bright." Naruto said as a blinding flash of light enveloped him._

(Naruto has met up with the investigation team and joined them inside the TV world. Next chapter Naruto will learn how the TV world works and the P1 Grand Prix will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(Author's Note: Naruto moved to Inaba slightly before the school year started and enrolled as a third year, that's how he already knows everyone in town prior to Yu returning for golden week.)

(1) (The events of the P1 Grand Prix have already taken place, the report is in between the P1 Grand Prix and the P1 Climax.)

(2) (Naruto used the transformation jutsu and turned into fly in order to listen to what Yukiko was saying about the midnight channel.)


	2. Welcome to the tournament

"_Oh man, my head." Naruto said weakly while standing up. "What hit me?"_

'_Be careful Naruto, this place is dangerous.' Kurama said. 'There's a strange force in the air, keep your guard up.'_

"_That's just great. Hold on a second, this is the Yasogami gymnasium." Naruto said suddenly._

_The room Naruto was in had a basketball court, a few bleachers for the occasional game, and other sports equipment scattered around the room._

'_This isn't the real thing.' Kurama said. 'Wait, someone's in here.'_

_The moment Kurama said that, Naruto tensed his muscles and started focusing his chakra. "Who's there?"_

"_What the, Naruto do you have any idea what's going on?" Kanji asked from behind him._

_Upon hearing his friend's voice, Naruto relaxed slightly. "I'm not sure, the last thing I remember is meeting Yu and then we jumped inside a television."_

"_A television, I don't know what you're talking about but if sempai trusts you then I definitely…" Kanji started to say before stopping._

'_Keep your focus Naruto, something is trying to manipulate your mind.' Kurama said suddenly. 'This is similar to a genjutsu.'_

_Right, thanks for the warning partner, Naruto thought._

"_What is the monster doing here, tired of terrorizing your village so now you want to destroy the town we worked so hard to fix?" Kanji asked cruelly. "I should save everyone a lot of trouble and take you down right now."_

'_Naruto, I think it's time I mention that your friends all have a strange power' Kurama said. 'This guy is dangerous.'_

_What do you mean, he's strong but I don't think he can threaten us, Naruto thought calmly._

"_Put down that fox, Take Mikazuchi." Kanji said before a blue glow surrounded him and a black humanoid figure with a skeleton painted on it wielding a lighting bolt as a weapon floated above him._

"_Oh, that just might make a difference." Naruto said nervously._

_The moment he said that the creature behind Kanji swung its lightning bolt like a club and tried to smash Naruto's head in, only for him to jump out of the way and have it crash into the ground._

"_You're fast, but sooner or later you're going to have to fight me head on." Kanji said. "Ziody.."_

"_Just what do you two think you're doing?" asked a female voice. "This is a school, and that is far from appropriate behavior."_

_What the, who's that, Naruto thought before glancing over and seeing a girl around his age with a silver ponytail and red eyes in a Yasogami high uniform._

'_I have no idea, but your friend is clearly not in his right mind.' Kurama said. 'We can't afford to have her get hurt, you'll need to use my power.'_

"_Stay out of this, I'm taking care of a monster." Kanji said. "You don't even deserve to be called a human being, all you are is the cage for the demon."_

"_You're wrong Kanji, something is messing up your head." Naruto said. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."_

_With those words, three clones of Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke and one of them jumped in front of the girl. "Stay behind me, I'll make sure you don't get hurt."_

"_What are you talking about, how did you do that?" the girl asked._

"_That's a long story, I'll explain after this." the clone said. "Trust me, I'll make sure everything ends up ok."_

_Those eyes, he really intends to stop this, the girl thought. "Alright, but after this is over we're putting a stop to this P1 Grand Prix stuff you understand?"_

"_No problem, that's my plan." Naruto said confidently. "Alright, let's go Kurama."_

_The moment Naruto called his name, the nine tailed fox appeared above him in all its glory._

"_Well, it looks like you can manifest the demon in here." Kanji said angrily. "That still won't help you."_

"Naruto, this place is affecting both of us." Kurama said. "We need to take him down quickly, I'll lend you some of my chakra."

"_Right, I'll use that and take him down in one blow." Naruto said calmly._

"_Not so fast, Ziodyne." Kanji said with a smirk just before a bolt of lightning struck Kurama, sending him crashing into the ground. "You won't be doing anything like that monster, you deserve to be treated like a monster I'm just doing the world a favor getting rid of you and that pathetic demon fox."_

"_What are you talking about, the only fox I see is the one above him." the girl said. "Isn't that just some kind of rule for this dumb tournament?"_

"_You don't have any idea, that's his persona." Kanji said as Take Mikazuchi began walking towards Kurama. "This place lets your inner most emotions and doubts come to the surface and once you've faced them you get the power to fight, or in this case take care of a worthless monster."_

"_Wait a minute, you said that people who come here face their inner thoughts and then get the power to fight, that works for me." Naruto said with a grin. "I've done that already."_

_Suddenly one of Naruto's clones appeared next to Kanji with a blue sphere in his hand._

_What the, what is that, the girl thought in amazement._

"_Rasengan." Naruto said slamming the sphere into Kanji's chest just before he went flying into the bleachers._

_Suddenly a monitor dropped from the ceiling and a blue and red bear with a hat and cane appeared on the screen._

"_That was quite the impressive performance, but who exactly are you?" the bear asked._

"_Why don't you tell me your name first." Naruto said._

"_Me, I'm General Teddie the host of the P1 Grand Prix." General Teddie said with a grin. "So now that you know me, why don't you be beary kind and introduce yourselves?"_

"_I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to end this tournament before anyone gets hurt." Naruto said confidently._

"_You must not have gotten the memo about the rules, only the winner of each match may proceed onwards, and if you win the whole tournament you'll get the special something I have waiting for you." General Teddie said. "Plus since I'm such a nice bear, you can move through the tournament with your little friend and she won't even have to raise a finger."_

"_Hey, listen you overgrown stuffed animal." the girl said angrily. "Stop this fighting tournament already."_

"_It's simple, if you want it to end then you'll have to win." General Teddie said._

_With those words, the monitor turned off and rose back into the ceiling._

"_Oh man, my head." Kanji said weakly. "What hit me?"_

"_That was me, sorry about that Kanji." Naruto said._

"_Hold on, you said we were in the TV right?" Kanji asked. "Did I do anything weird or unbelievable?"_

"_If you're talking about the guy swinging around a bolt of lightning then yeah you did." the girl said. "What was that?"_

"_It's a power that me and my friends have, I guess you have something like that too Naruto." Kanji said weakly. "You mind if I ask what it is?"_

'_Naruto, you noticed it didn't you, the fight ended and that mysterious force vanished.' Kurama said calmly. 'It must have blocked his memories.'_

_Yeah, but how much can I tell him realistically, Naruto thought._

'_There's clearly more to this place than we know, but we shouldn't reveal everything.' Kurama said. 'As little as possible would be ideal.'_

_Right, I'll leave it at the training with Octopops, Naruto thought. "Well basically I had a power since I was born and a while ago I went to get some special training to master it." he said._

"_That makes sense, good to hear." Kanji said. "Still, we should keep moving and find the others."_

"_Actually, we fought and I won so only…" Naruto started before turning to the girl. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"_

"_My name, it's…" the girl started before freezing. "Hey, what's wrong with me?"_

"_Are you alright, it's ok if you can't remember." Naruto said. "It might just be because of this tournament."_

"_I guess, but it's just scary to not even know who you are." the girl said._

"_Well do you know anything?" Kanji asked. "I mean it might help us figure the rest out."_

"_Yeah, I'm the student council president." the girl said._

"_Alright then, miss president." Naruto said. "We'll get to the bottom of this no matter what."_

"_Right, I'll trust you Naruto." the girl said with a smile. "Just make sure you stop this stupid tournament."_

"_Right, I'll be back soon Kanji." Naruto said. "Just leave it to me."_

"_Hold on, Naruto you need to be careful." Kanji said. "Don't forget that sempai is here and he's probably fighting too. I don't know how strong you are but you won't be able to beat him."_

"_Maybe, but the only way we'll find out is if I run into him." Naruto said confidently before running out of the gym with miss president._

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"_Man, you're as strong as ever partner." Yosuke said weakly. "I feel sorry for whoever runs into you."_

"_That's true, but I'm more worried about Rise and Teddie." Yu said sheathing his katana. "Something is really wrong."_

"_Yeah, but you heard him." Yosuke said. "I can't go any further so make sure that you get to the bottom of this."_

"_Right, no problem partner." Yu said calmly._

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"So you're telling me that in Inaba people can travel into the television and they have powers comparable to ours inside it?" Tsunade asked. "You realize this sounds completely impossible correct?"

"I know, but I'm serious." Naruto said. "There are things we just can't believe unless we see them and this is one of them."

"Naruto, I said it sounds impossible." Tsunade said. "I never said I didn't believe you."

"Right, well there's a lot more to it than that." Labrys said. "That was when they showed up."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked quickly. "Who showed up?"

"It's not what you're thinking." Naruto said. "There weren't any other ninja, it was a group called the Shadow Operatives, I guess you could call them anbu for shadows."

"I see, continue Naruto." Tsunade said calmly.

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"_Oh, do you mind if I ask you something miss president." Naruto said calmly._

"_Sure, what is it Naruto?" the girl asked._

"_Well it's just you didn't seem surprised by the whole situation, I mean Kanji and I mentioned we were inside a television but you didn't seem surprised about it." Naruto said._

"_Well with what I've already seen something strange is clearly going on." the girl said. "I don't know if I agree with it being a TV, but the only way to find out is to get to that General Teddie and make him tell us what's going on."_

'_Naruto, there's something off about her.' Kurama said. 'I can't put my finger on it but she's related to everything that's going on somehow.'_

_Are you sure, she seems to be as much a victim as everyone else, Naruto thought. "You're right, but these walls are starting to get annoying." he said._

"_You can say that again, but they aren't blocking me." the girl said. "You think it's because you're fighting and I'm not?"_

_Suddenly Naruto froze and put his hand to his lips indicating quiet and glanced around a corner only to see a blond figure run down a side hallway._

"_What's going on?" the girl asked quietly._

"_My friends and I aren't the only ones here." Naruto whispered. "We need to be very careful."_

'_Naruto, be extremely careful, someone incredibly powerful is through that door.' Kurama said quickly. 'Whatever you do, make sure you avoid getting hit, it will end badly.'_

_Right, well at least we must be getting closer to the end, Naruto thought._

'_Don't underestimate the person behind that door, you could very easily die in here.' Kurama said bluntly._

_In that case I might need to borrow your chakra that way this time, Naruto thought._

'_No, only use that if there's no other option, I'm gathering us nature energy but it's going to take some time, you'll be on your own for a few more minutes.' Kurama said calmly._

_Right, that should be enough, Naruto thought. "Let's keep going, the sooner we get through this the better." he said turning to the girl with a smile "After all we can't have the students getting hurt can we miss president?"_

"_You're right about that Naruto." the girl said with a smile. _

_The moment she said that, Naruto opened the door in front of them revealing a normal empty classroom._

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"_It appears it's even more difficult to get in touch with the others than I thought." said a redheaded woman in a white fur coat. "Still, this world is clearly influencing my powers."_

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"Labrys correct?" Tsunade asked. "I need to take care of something at the moment, would it be possible for the two of you to come back and continue your report later this afternoon?"

"Sure, we can do that." Labrys said. "Is that ok with you Naruto?"

"Sure, do you want to get something to eat while we wait?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"That sounds fine, I'll let you two know when you should come back." Tsunade said with a smirk before pulling out a file.

"Lady Tsunade, I thought I heard Naruto's voice." Sakura said walking into the room. "Naruto, you're back, so was the mission a success?"

"Yeah, it was a success." Naruto said with a grin.

"Oh, and who are you?" Sakura asked turning to Labrys.

"My name is Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon Labrys." Labrys said calmly. "Though I just go by Labrys."

"I see, well it's nice to meet you Labrys." Sakura said. "Are those real?"

"Yeah, oh do you mind if I open a window for a second?" Labrys asked.

"It's fine, but do you mind if I ask why?" Tsunade asked calmly.

"I thought I should show you guys something." Labrys said opening the window before shooting her fist out of the window on a chain.

"That's unbelievable, Naruto do you think she should talk to Tenten?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, maybe." Naruto said. "Well anyway we were about to get some ramen, do you want to come Sakura?"

"I'm alright, you two enjoy yourselves." Sakura said calmly.

"If you say so, see you later Sakura." Naruto said.

(Naruto and Labrys are continuing to explain the events of the P1 Grand Prix, and Sakura has met Labrys. Next chapter Naruto will explain more about the village and a few familiar faces will make an appearance. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	3. Konoha a hero's home

"Naruto, do you mind if I ask you something?" Labrys asked.

"Sure, is something wrong Labrys?" Naruto asked calmly.

"Well, it's this whole place." Labrys said looking down sadly. "I feel like I don't belong here and everybody knows it."

"Don't worry, they just haven't gotten to know you." Naruto said reassuringly. "Plus just between us they used to look at me the same way."

"You're joking, everybody here looks at you like you're a hero." Labrys said. "They look at me like I'm some kind of freak and a monster."

"Well, the last time a robot came to the village things didn't go well." Naruto said. "Of course all that means is we need to let them know you."

"Wait, this doesn't have anything to do with Kurama does it?" Labrys asked.

The moment she said that Naruto looked down. "Yeah, a long time ago Kurama nearly destroyed the whole village. The fourth hokage, one of the greatest ninja in the world stopped him by sealing him away in me."

"There's a difference Naruto." Labrys said. "You're not the one who did all of that. When you look at me you see exactly what you're getting into."

"No, you're wrong Labrys." Naruto said seriously. "We're the opposite. I was hated by everyone for what was inside me, once they get to know you they'll see the same thing we did in Inaba."

"You think so?" Labrys asked. "I mean I don't exactly have the best track record."

"Trust me, just keep trying and things will work out." Naruto said reassuringly. "If you're nervous after we eat I'll take you on a tour of the village and you can get people to know you."

"Ok, thanks Naruto that's nice of you." Labrys said with a small smile.

"Then it's settled." Naruto said with a grin turning to a small restaurant. "This is Ichiraku, this place makes great ramen."

"Naruto, great to see you." said a man behind the counter. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Labrys, I thought she should have the best food in the village." Naruto said excitedly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Labrys, the name's Teuchi, I have a daughter named Ayane, but she's out at the moment." Teuchi said with a smile. "Now you two just sit right there and I'll whip up some fine ramen for you guys."

"Thank you sir." Labrys said quietly.

"Any friend of Naruto is a friend of mine." Teuchi said preparing the two bowls of ramen.

"Naruto's back, and you didn't stop by for a visit?" asked a voice from outside Ichiraku. "I thought I was his favorite teacher."

"Iruka-sensei, it's great to see you again." Naruto said excitedly.

"Calm down Naruto, it's great to see you too." Iruka said with a smile. "Oh, do you mind introducing me to your friend?"

"It's nice to meet you, I'm the Fifth Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon Labrys." Labrys said. "Though I usually go by Labrys."

"Well Labrys, I can tell you must have an interesting story." Iruka said. "Would you be willing to tell me about it sometime?"

"Well, it's kind of…" Labrys started to say while looking down.

"She didn't have the best time before, things are looking up but I don't think she should have to relive those memories yet." Naruto said kindly.

"I understand completely, so have you given her the tour yet?" Iruka asked.

"I was going to as soon as we got some food." Naruto said calmly.

"Speaking of which your ramen is done, it's our treat Naruto." Teuchi said handing Naruto and Labrys bowls of ramen. "Do you want one Iruka?"

"Not this time, I just thought I'd pop in and see my old student." Iruka said. "I'll see you two later, one of the new students asked to talk to me."

"Alright, see you later Iruka-sensei." Naruto said with a smile as Iruka walked back out of the ramen shop.

"You two are close aren't you?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, he was the first person to see me as something other than the nine tails." Naruto said. "That was before we got to know each other and I thought he was a monster."

'_Monster, glad to know how you feel Naruto.' Kurama said feigning pain._

"Very funny Kurama, let's eat." Naruto said with a grin.

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"Aigis, we could have told her to come with us you know." Mitsuru said calmly.

"I know, but my sister has been forced to do enough." Aigis said. "This was her decision to make."

"She really felt a connection to him didn't she?" Fuuka asked.

"Well he did protect her the whole time, and then with what happened." Akihiko said. "I'm not surprised that she wanted to go with him."

"He's definitely one of a kind." Fuuka said. "Hopefully once everything is over he'll let us all visit."

"I'm sure he will." Akihiko said. "Now then let's get back to work."

"Right, this is far from over." Mitsuru said calmly.

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"So where are we going now Naruto?" Labrys asked.

"Well, I thought I could show you one of the most important places in the village." Naruto said. "It's called the Memorial Stone."

"Memorial Stone, why is it called that?" Labrys asked.

"It's where all the heroes of the village who died protecting have their names written." Naruto said. "It's a very important place for everyone in the village."

"Oh, are you sure it's a good idea to just go see it?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, I promise everything will be fine." Naruto said nearly crashing into a blonde girl in a purple outfit.

"Naruto, watch where you're going." the girl said irritably.

"Oh, sorry Ino." Naruto said. "I was just showing Labrys around the village, we were going to the Memorial Stone."

"Oh, do you mind waiting a minute?" Ino asked. "We were thinking of heading over ourselves."

"No problem, I'll see you three later." Naruto said.

"Did her family lose someone?" Labrys asked.

"Kind of, remember what I told you about how we're put onto three man teams?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, you said it was the most efficient for your missions." Labrys said. "Wait, you don't mean that do you?"

"Their sensei lost his life a while ago, it hit them all pretty badly." Naruto said. "We can both sort of relate."

"Yeah, you have a point." Labrys said. "I wish I could do something for them."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but things are alright." said a voice from behind her. "You must be Labrys, I'm Shikamaru Nara."

"It's good to see you again Shikamaru." Naruto said calmly.

"It's good to see you too Naruto, Choji and Ino will meet us at the Memorial Stone." Shikamaru said calmly while holding a lighter.

"You know smoking's bad right?" Labrys asked.

"This isn't mine, it belonged to Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru said. "The three of us decided to hold onto it."

"I can see that, I have something from him myself." Naruto said.

"Yeah, we should head over there." Shikamaru said calmly.

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"Is that it?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, there are a few names I wanted to show you." Naruto said. "Right here, Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya, he's your godfather isn't he?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, he's the one I told you about." Naruto said sadly. "He died a little while ago but he left his will to me."

'_It wasn't just him Naruto, they left you their wills too.' Kurama said. 'Minato and Kushina, they're one of a kind people.'_

Yeah, you're right Kurama, Naruto thought. "There are actually two other names I wanted to show you."

"Ok." Labrys said. "Who are they?"

"They're my parents." Naruto said. " My dad, Minato Namikaze the fourth hokage, and my mom, Kushina Uzumaki."

"Both of your parents died defending your home, you must be so proud of them." Labrys said.

"Yeah, I'm real lucky to be their kid." Naruto said with a smile.

"Hey Naruto, he should be back from his last mission by now." Shikamaru said. "You should see him."

"Right, do you three mind showing Labrys around for a little?" Naruto asked.

"Sure thing, we'll meet up with you later." Choji said calmly.

"Right, I need to talk to an old friend." Naruto said. "Things have been shaky in the past so I'll see you later."

The moment he said that, Naruto teleported away.

"Those two, one minute they're fighting and the next they're best buddies." Shikamaru said. "Still they're the two best ninja in the village."

"Who do you mean?" Labrys asked.

"Naruto's best friend, Sasuke Uchiha." Shikamaru said calmly.

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"I had a feeling you'd show up by now Naruto." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"I heard your mission ended, did it go well?" Naruto asked. "No wait let me guess it was easy?"

"An assassination mission, I would have been back sooner but the others fell into an obvious trap." Sasuke said.

"That sounds like you, still Kakashi-sensei is going to get his title soon so we should be there for him." Naruto said calmly.

"I agree, by the way Sakura mentioned you had a girlfriend." Sasuke said calmly. "Where is she?"

"Girlfriend, no we're friends." Naruto said. "I mean she's technically a girl but I mean we're not dating."

"Naruto, I asked where she is." Sasuke said calmly. "Her name's Labrys right."

The moment Sasuke said that, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Labrys walked up.

"Do you know me?" Labrys asked.

"You must be Labrys, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto's old teammate." Sasuke said. "I must admit you're not what I was expecting."

"Drop it Sasuke, don't you have to go talk with Sakura or something?" Naruto asked.

"I get the picture, you want to spend some time with her." Sasuke said with a smirk before teleporting away.

"What a drag, come on you two we should get going." Shikamaru said. "Kurenai-sensei could use some extra hands around her house."

With those words the three of them walked off leaving Naruto and Labrys alone.

"Well, shall we continue the tour?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, don't let him get to you." Labrys said with a smile. "He's just messing with his friend."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto said. "Plus I still need to talk with Tenten."

"Is she another ninja?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, but she's really good with weapons." Naruto said. "Maybe she can help you with your axe."

"Thanks Naruto, you're right." Labrys said just before a masked man appeared in front of them.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Labrys, lady Tsunade has requested both of your presence in her office." said the anbu before teleporting away.

"Well, I guess we should head back, are you ok?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, and thanks for showing me around Naruto." Labrys said with a smile.

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"I apologize for the delay, I had a matter to attend to." Tsunade said calmly. "Now then, please continue."

"Right, so we were about to meet up with someone very dangerous." Naruto said. "Well dangerous if you get her mad."

"Mitsuru-san." Labrys said thoughtfully.

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"_Who's there?" asked a red haired woman in black spandex and a fur coat._

"_I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and this is the student council president." Naruto said. "Who are you?"_

"_My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, my associates and I are here to retrieve something that was stolen from us." Mitsuru said calmly. "A weapon to be precise."_

"_Well you're not finding any weapons in here." the girl said calmly._

'_It's happening again, the illusion is about to begin.' Kurama said. 'Be careful Naruto, this one is much more dangerous than the last.'_

"_So you think that just because things in one village is different things are different everywhere?" Mitsuru asked as she drew a rapier. "The fact is no matter what you try and do you're no more than a monster."_

"_Hey, he's no monster so stop saying he is." The girl said._

"_You have no idea who he is." Mitsuru said coldly. _

"_That's enough, sorry miss president but I don't think we have any choice but to fight." Naruto said. "Let's go Kurama."_

_With those words the fox appeared behind Naruto once again._

"_Come Artemisia." Mitsuru said just before a woman in a blue and gold dress wearing a red mask appeared holding a whip appeared behind her._

"_That might be a problem." Naruto said nervously._

"_Artemisia Bufudyne." Mitsuru said just as a block of ice encased Kurama._

"_No way, she froze him solid?" Naruto asked nervously._

"_Now then, time for your execution." Mitsuru said before running towards Naruto._

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto said quickly before two clones appeared in front of him, barely intercepting a blow to his chest._

"_Be careful Naruto." the girl said quietly._

"_That was a waste of time, you're already beaten." Mitsuru said simply._

"_Don't underestimate me." Naruto said calmly. "Rasengan."_

_With those words Naruto slammed the familiar blue sphere into the ice surrounding Kurama, freeing him from his prison._

"_What kept you Naruto, I was beginning to think you wanted me on ice." Kurama said._

"_I had a minor situation." Naruto said. "So are you ready?"_

"_Just be careful, we don't want to hurt her." Kurama said before slowly vanishing._

"_I know, this won't take much longer." Naruto said as Kurama completely disappeared and a orange glow surrounded him. "This won't take very long and then we can get to the announcement room."_

"_Artemisia." Mitsuru said before her persona shot her whip towards Naruto._

_Just before it hit Naruto vanished and appeared behind Mitsuru, pulling her rapier out of her hands._

"_What, how did you do that?" Mitsuru asked nervously._

"_You won't listen until the fight is over, so let's end this." Naruto said just before a block of ice enveloped him and he dropped the rapier._

"_No, Naruto." the girl said nervously._

"_Trust me, it's better this way." Mitsuru said turning towards Naruto. "Now then, this fight is over."_

_With those words Mitsuru stabbed her rapier into the ice shattering it and Naruto into pieces._

"_No way, you killed him." the girl said nervously._

"_I did, but the monster is finished once and for all." Mitsuru said calmly._

"_Wait a second, why isn't the monitor showing up?" the girl asked nervously._

"_Does it matter, we should get moving though." Mitsuru said before walking to the door only to hit an invisible wall. "What, but the fight is over the winner is allowed to advance."_

"_You didn't win, this isn't over yet." said a voice before Naruto appeared next to the girl. "Are you alright?"_

"_I'm just glad you're ok." the girl said._

"_Right, let's just take care of this and be end the P1 Grand Prix as soon as possible." Naruto said calmly._

(Naruto is engaging Mitsuru in battle and has entered Nine-tails chakra mode. Next chapter the battle will end and Naruto and the girl will learn why Mitsuru is there. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	4. The Shadow Operatives

"_What, how did you escape the ice?" Mitsuru asked nervously._

"_You let me out, when the ice broke I had a chance to avoid your attack." Naruto said._

"_That's impossible." Mitsuru said. "You shattered along with the ice."_

_Suddenly the ice disappeared in a puff of smoke._

"_Substitution Jutsu, you hit a clone." Naruto said before kicking Mitsuru into a wall, knocking her out cold. "Are you ok miss president?"_

"_Yeah, but what was she talking about?" the girl asked. "What kind of person steals a weapon?"_

"_There's only one way to find out." Naruto said as the orange glow faded before walking over to Mitsuru. "Hey, are you alright?"_

"_What happened, wait that's right you won fair and square." Mitsuru said calmly._

"_That's true, but what's going on?" Naruto asked. "You mentioned a weapon, do you mean a sword of some kind?"_

"_No, I suppose since I lost I'll need to ask for your help." Mitsuru said. "I'm the leader of a group known as the Shadow Operatives, we work to protect the world from creatures known as shadows."_

"_So wait, how can we help you with that?" Naruto asked. "I don't know about miss president but I've never heard of shadows before."_

"_I'm not surprised, they aren't commonly seen." Mitsuru said. "In fact the only people who can battle shadows are those who were able to awaken their persona, you've already seen mine."_

"_Artemisia, so that's called a persona." the girl asked. "Wait but what kind of weapon could use one of those?"_

"_Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, humanoid robots with the ability to call on personas." Mitsuru said calmly. "That's what was stolen from us."_

"_Wait, you said robots right?" the girl asked. "Doesn't that mean more than one?"_

"_Yes, in fact one of my closest friends is the last created Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, her name is Aigis." Mitsuru said calmly._

_The moment Mitsuru said that, miss president froze._

"_Miss president, are you alright?" Naruto asked._

"_I'm alright." the girl said quickly. "So what else do you know about this weapon?"_

"_Very little, we've actually never seen it." Mitsuru said calmly. "If you meet Aigis or Akihiko let them know you're helping us."_

"_Right, we'll find this weapon for you and stop the P1 Grand Prix too." Naruto said. "You can count on us."_

"_Alright, thank you." Mitsuru said calmly as Naruto and miss president ran out of the room. "I should let them know what's going on."_

_With those words Artemisia reappeared above Mitsuru._

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"_Hey Naruto, can I ask you something?" the girl asked nervously._

"_Sure, what's wrong?" Naruto asked._

"_Well, it's what she said, it scared me." the girl said nervously. "I don't know why but it did."_

'_Naruto, I sense someone coming this way, someone extremely dangerous.' Kurama said. 'Be extremely careful.'_

_The moment Kurama said that, a woman dressed in blue appeared around the corner holding a small book._

"_Oh, I wasn't expecting to meet people who weren't in that video." the woman said cheerfully. "Are you two participating in the competition as well?"_

"_Kind of, we're trying to stop it." Naruto said. "That and help someone named Mitsuru Kirijo find a weapon that was stolen from her."_

"_Well you've already found it, allow me Elizabeth to demonstrate what I mean." Elizabeth said calmly._

_With those words static began to surround miss president before revealing her to be a robot with a massive axe strapped to her back._

"_What the, what's going on why do I look like this?" the girl asked nervously._

"_What did you do to her?" Naruto asked angrily._

"_There was an illusion on her that was hiding her true appearance, I merely dispelled it myself." Elizabeth said calmly. "Now then, as for this tournament I shall be your next opponent."_

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"So these robots, Aigis and you Labrys?" Tsunade asked. "You were created to fight shadows?"

"Anti-Shadow Suppresion Weapons, and yes." Labrys said.

"Would you mind if I asked what exactly you mean when you say shadow?" Tsunade asked.

"That's kind of complicated." Labrys said. "The others told us about the other shadows, but the first one we met was the hidden emotions that people ignore taking physical form."

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that." Naruto said. "The mission isn't over but we don't know where to go next."

"I see, well did anything else of note occur?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, a lot." Naruto said.

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"_Hold on, why do you want to fight us?" Naruto asked._

"_That's the reason we're here correct, just consider this a test of your power." Elizabeth said calmly. "Come Thanatos."_

_With those words a humanoid creature with a bestial skull helmet and a cape of coffins appeared above her._

'_Naruto, call on my power before she kills you.' Kurama said urgently._

"_Right, come Kurama." Naruto said. "Miss president, be careful."_

"_Well, that's quite the power you wield." Elizabeth said calmly. "Thanatos, Maragidyne."_

"_Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto said before twenty clones appeared around him._

"_My, I've never encountered an individual who could duplicate themselves so simply." Elizabeth said. "This should be quite entertaining."_

_The moment she said that, Kurama launched an orb of chakra at Thanatos sending him into the wall._

"_My, so your persona has it's own personality." Elizabeth said calmly. "I must admit this is something I've never seen before."_

"_Persona, I'm no persona." Kurama said. "I'm the nine-tails, the most powerful creature you've ever encountered."_

"_That's strange, you certainly have the appearance of a persona." Elizabeth said._

"_Wind Style Rasenshuriken." Naruto said suddenly slamming his jutsu into Elizabeth, sending her flying down the hallway._

"_I'm human aren't I, what is this stuff?" the girl said suddenly. "What did she do to me?"_

"_Don't worry, we'll get her to explain what she did." Naruto said. "Come on."_

_With those words Naruto and the girl started running after Elizabeth._

"_Impressive that was quite the attack." Elizabeth said getting back up. "Of course it's far from over."_

"_Naruto, she's not beaten yet." Kurama said. "We might need to use that if we want to take her down."_

"_Right, tailed beast bomb it is." Naruto said as Kurama vanished and the orange glow reappeared._

"_Oh my, you can merge with the fox?" Elizabeth asked. "That's quite impressive."_

"_What did you do to miss president?" Naruto asked angrily._

"_I simply undid the illusion on her appearance, if it angers you I can restore her fake appearance." Elizabeth said calmly as more static surrounded the girl and her human form returned._

"_Who are you, we're just trying to put a stop to this tournament." the girl said. _

_Wait a second, didn't Mitsuru say something about a robot designed to look like a human, Naruto thought. "Wait, could that be what's going on?"_

"_Naruto, is something wrong?" the girl asked._

"_Miss president, I think you really do look like that." Naruto said. "I think whoever's running the tournament is playing tricks on our eyes."_

"_That's impossible, I'm human just like you." the girl said nervously. "How could I be some kind of robot?"_

"_I don't know, but either way we need to put a stop to this tournament." Naruto said. "I don't know about you but it really doesn't matter to me if you are a robot. I know better than anyone that what matters is how you treat other people."_

"_Naruto, thanks I guess you're right." the girl said. "Robot or human all that matters is that I do my best to help the others in the school."_

"_Right, and I'll help you out either way." Naruto said. "We're going to find out what happened and put a stop to it."_

"_I see, you're truly an admirable person." Elizabeth said as her persona disappeared. "Well then, I have to find others to engage in battle."_

_With those words Elizabeth turned and walked down a side hallway._

"_What was that about?" Naruto asked as the orange glow faded._

"_I don't know, but the announcement room should be just up these stairs." the girl said. "We'll get an answer soon."_

_Suddenly Naruto stopped._

"_Looks like there's one more of those walls." Naruto said in annoyance._

"_Alright, but be careful Naruto." the girl said before they opened the door._

"_Who's there?" asked a blonde girl in the middle of the room. "Are you also participating in this tournament?"_

"_For now, we're trying to find General Teddie and get him to stop the tournament." Naruto said._

"_I see, I met someone named Teddie myself but he claimed the host was an imposter, my name is Aigis." Aigis said._

"_Aigis, Naruto didn't Mitsuru mention her?" the girl asked. "You're an Anti-Shadow Weapon aren't you?"_

"_You met Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asked before staring at the girl. "You are my sister."_

"_Sister, what do you mean?" the girl asked._

"_I am the seventh generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, I am your younger sister Labrys." Aigis said with a smile._

"_I'm sorry, but I need to find out what's going on for myself before I believe anything." Labrys said. "I just need some time alright?"_

"_Of course, I understand completely." Aigis said. "Unfortunately the tournament is still going on which means we will have to fight soon, I apologize in advance for any injuries you will receive."_

"_No, I'm the one who should be sorry Aigis." Naruto said before his eyelids turned orange. "I'm not going to lose this fight."_

_Suddenly Aigis looked down._

"_I was designed to destroy shadows, however a demon is also something I should eliminate." Aigis said._

'_Time to take care of this Naruto.' Kurama said._

"_Right, let's go Kurama." Naruto said before the fox appeared behind him._

"_Athena, I need your help." Aigis said just before a girl in a white robe and roman helmet appeared holding a spear and a shield revolving around her on a ring._

"_Naruto keep your eyes on Aigis, I'll take care of Athena." Kurama said slamming one of his tails into the shield._

_Suddenly a bullet flew past Naruto's head._

"_What was that?" Naruto asked before more bullets started flying towards him. "It's a good thing I can dodge these with sage mode."_

"_Sage mode, well in that case." Aigis said before beginning to glow with energy. "Activating Orgia Mode."_

"_What mode?" Naruto asked just before Aigis punched him into the wall, knocking his pouch to the ground._

"_Wait a minute, that might work." Kurama said suddenly while dodging Athena's spear. "Do you see that bag on the ground?"_

"_Huh, yeah I see it." the girl said._

"_Grab one of the small balls and throw it straight down, and close your eyes." Kurama said quickly._

"_Right." the girl said before reaching into the bag. "Here goes nothing."_

_With those words Labrys threw the ball to the ground and it exploded into a smokescreen._

"_What?" Aigis asked in confusion._

_Quick thinking Kurama, Naruto thought before forming a rasengan in each hand._

_Take her down Naruto, Kurama thought confidently._

"_Sage Art: Rasenganrengan." Naruto said before launching his jutsu into Aigis, sending her flying into the opposite wall._

"_Naruto, it's not over yet." Kurama said. "Whatever that Orgia Mode is it's even stronger than we thought."_

"_How were you able to see through that smokescreen?" Aigis asked calmly._

"_Wait, is the fight over?" Naruto asked._

"_No, I'm just curious." Aigis said._

"_It's not seeing, I can sense things in sage mode." Naruto said. "I hate to do this Aigis, but I need to win, Shadow Clone Jutsu."_

"_So there is more to you than I expected, I suggest we end this with one final attack." Aigis said calmly._

"_Alright, that sounds good to me." Naruto said as he began forming a Rasenshuriken._

"_Maximum charge." Aigis said as her persona changed into a mechanical one that transformed into a massive cannon._

"_Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken." Naruto said as he threw his jutsu towards Aigis._

"_Heritage Liberator Palladion." Aigis said before a massive laser fired towards the Rasenshuriken creating a massive explosion._

"_Naruto, Aigis." the girl said nervously as the smoke slowly faded revealing Aigis on her back with Naruto glowing orange._

"_I concede defeat, you are stronger than I anticipated Naruto-san." Aigis said weakly._

"_You're pretty strong too Aigis, I barely won." Naruto said helping her up._

"_I understand, however if what I learned is correct you should be extremely careful." Aigis said. "The real danger is waiting in the announcement room."_

"_Right, don't worry we'll take care of everything." Naruto said._

"_There is one other thing, please protect my sister." Aigis said._

"_Aigis, don't worry." Labrys said with a smile. "We'll put a stop to this and both come back, that's a promise."_

_With those words Naruto and Labrys ran out of the room._

"_Please be careful, if they were correct her shadow is somewhere in this school." Aigis said nervously._

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"Lady Tsunade, we've received a report from the Raikage." Shizune said suddenly.

"What's going on Shizune?" Tsunade asked.

"It's him, he's made a move." Shizune said. (1)

"I see, tell the raikage that we may have another option to counter him." Tsunade said. "Naruto is there any way to get in touch with these people you met?"

"Yeah, there is a way." Naruto said. "We can get in touch with everyone."

"Hold on, you still need to hear the most important details." Labrys said.

"Important details, what are you talking about?" Tsunade asked.

"The one who kidnapped Labrys, he knows a lot more about us than he should." Naruto said. "Whoever he is knew about Orochimaru and the Akatsuki."

"What, how is that possible?" Shizune asked nervously.

"We don't know, but we need to stop him." Labrys said nervously.

"Alright, finish the report Naruto." Tsunade said. "Any information we have about this individual is going to be useful in stopping him."

"Right." Naruto said quickly.

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"_This is it, that General Teddie guy is just behind this door." Labrys said._

"_Alright, in that case let's stop this tournament once and for all." Naruto said before opening the door. "What the, Rise?"_

"_Naruto, be careful General Teddie is here." Rise said urgently._

"_So you must be the ones who managed to win the whole tournament and make it here." General Teddie said calmly. "I must say I'm beary impressed."_

"_Enough out of you, now you're going to stop this tournament and let everybody go." Labrys said._

"_Oh, and you plan on making me do this how?" General Teddie said with a smirk. "It's about time we put an end to this charade."_

(Naruto and Labrys have arrived at the announcement room and are preparing to confront General Teddie. Next chapter the P1 Grand Prix's true purpose will be revealed. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Naruto's mission to Inaba took place during the preparation for the fourth great ninja war. In this continuity he knows what's going on but both sides are taking additional time to prepare.)


	5. Shadows and Snakes

"_What are you talking about, what charade?" Naruto asked._

"_I see you brought her with you, that's quite kind of you." General Teddie said with a smirk before a silver orb enveloped him._

"_Be careful, something really bad is happening." Rise said nervously._

_Suddenly a flash of light filled the room before an exact copy of Labrys' robotic appearance stood in front of them, only with eerily glowing yellow eyes._

"_No way, just what are you?" Labrys asked nervously._

"_That should be obvious, I'm you we're the same person." the other Labrys said with a smirk. "Well me, what did you think of the tournament? Wasn't it exactly what you wanted?"_

"_What are you talking about, why would I want this to happen?" Labrys asked fearfully._

"_You wanted everyone to feel what you felt when you had to destroy them all, every one of our sisters we were forced to destroy, don't you remember me?" the other Labrys said before static filled the room._

"_That's enough, I might not know what's going on but you're clearly upsetting her so knock it off." Naruto said angrily._

"_Can it you brat, this is a personal matter you don't have any idea what happened." the other Labrys said coldly._

"_No, Naruto that's her shadow." Rise said. "It is her, you have to believe me."_

"_No, I wouldn't want to see anyone suffer like that, how could you think that way?" Labrys asked._

'_Naruto, there's something strange about her, she's not the same as the girl who you've been protecting, but she's not different either.' Kurama said. 'Be on your guard, something is going to happen.'_

"_Maybe this will help you remember me." the other Labrys said before the announcement room changed into a much more sinister looking room where broken robots were being thrown into a furnace. "We were forced to fight the others by the Kirijo group, and you wanted other people to know what that felt like."_

"_No, that's a lie." Labrys said defensively. "I would never want people to suffer like that."_

"_Of course you would, that's why I did this all for you." the other Labrys said. "That's the whole reason for the P1 Grand Prix, me."_

"_No, this isn't true." Labrys said weakly._

"_No, don't say it." Rise said urgently._

"_There's no way you can be me, it's a lie." Labrys yelled at her doppelganger._

"_Finally, I've been waiting for you to say that for so long." the other Labrys said cheerfully. "I can feel the power flowing, making me stronger."_

_Suddenly a red cloud appeared and flew into the other Labrys and a creature resembling a Minotaur with a skeletal head and black cloak appeared behind her halfway in a portal on the ground._

"_What the, who or what are you?" Naruto asked._

"_I am a shadow, the true self." Shadow Labrys said calmly. "If you can't handle it I'll wipe out everyone myself. Starting with this brat."_

'_Naruto, this is one fight we can't afford to lose.' Kurama said urgently._

"_Right, don't worry I'll take care of this." Naruto said. "Let's end this right now Kurama."_

_As Naruto said that, the nine tailed fox appeared behind him again._

"_So you want to fight me brat, fine you'll die either way." Shadow Labrys said before her axe rocketed off her back and she caught it in one hand. "Let's see what you can do kid."_

_With those words Shadow Labrys ran towards Naruto and swung her axe down towards his head. Just before it hit him, Naruto pulled out a kunai and blocked the axe._

"_Why do you want to hurt her, if you're Labrys you would know that she would never hurt anyone." Naruto said._

"_You don't know what you're talking about, I remember when we were forced to fight them." Shadow Labrys said angrily. "Now unless you think you know me better than myself you'll shut up."_

_Suddenly the Minotaur creature shot a red laser at Naruto, sending him flying into the wall._

"_Naruto, miss president you need to listen to me that's you." Rise said quickly. "You need to accept that."_

"_No, there's no way that thing is me." Labrys said. "It can't be."_

"_Look, Labrys right?" Kurama asked._

"_Yes." Labrys said nervously._

"_Everyone has things that are painful to remember, Naruto knows that better than anyone." Kurama said. "The difference with him is that he drew strength from what happened."_

_As Kurama said that, Naruto formed a group of shadow clones and managed to disarm Shadow Labrys._

"_It's over, just stop already." Naruto said._

"_Watch it brat, you have no idea what I can do." Shadow Labrys said before launching her fist into Naruto's gut._

"_Naruto, stop it." Labrys said angrily. "Just stop already."_

"_He's the one who wanted to fight, and you're the one who wanted everyone to know the pain of fighting your friends." Shadow Labrys said while pulling back her fist and grabbing her axe. "That's what you wanted right?"_

"_No, Labrys wouldn't ever want that." Naruto said. "Kurama, let's use that."_

"_I was thinking the same thing." Kurama said before disappearing._

"_What kind of idiot has their persona leave in the middle of a fight?" Shadow Labrys asked before she was kicked in the back. "What?"_

"_Kurama isn't a persona or whatever you called him, he's my partner." Naruto said. "We're going to stop you and this tournament."_

"_Naruto, he's glowing." Rise said in shock._

"_Yeah, he's done that before." Labrys said. "I just, there's no way that I would ever do that to people."_

"_No, that's not entirely true." said a voice from behind her._

"_Mitsuru-san, the walls are gone?" Labrys asked._

"_Yes, and I wanted to personally apologize." Mitsuru said sadly. "I spoke with Narukami and he informed me of what that shadow is, repressed emotions."_

"_Repressed emotions?" Labrys asked. "What are you talking about?"_

"_It's your hidden feelings that you don't want anyone to know about." said a silver haired boy. "It's hard but that is you, nobody will think less of you because of it though, that's not the kind of people we are."_

"_Oh spare me the sympathy speech, once I'm done with this kid you're next." Shadow Labrys said coldly._

"_That's it, I didn't want to have to use this on you." Naruto said as a black orb began forming in his hands._

"_What is that, it's much more powerful than what he used on me in our confrontation." Aigis said just as a ghostly form of Kurama's head appeared around Naruto._

"_Tailed Beast Bomb." Naruto said before the orb launched towards Shadow Labrys and the creature behind her, severely injuring Shadow Labrys and destroying the creature._

"_Naruto stop, that's enough." Labrys said suddenly before turning to her shadow. "If you're me, and we really did everything you're saying, why can't I remember any of it?"_

"_That was something I did for you, you didn't want to remember it so I let you pretend you were human, that you were a part of this school." Shadow Labrys said weakly._

"_You did that for me?" Labrys asked in surprise._

"_No, the memories were always there you just dropped them onto me along with all of the pain." Shadow Labrys said. "You wanted other people to feel the way you felt so I gave you a way to let that happen."_

"_I get it, but you don't have to do that anymore." Labrys said. "I, no we have friends now that can help us through things. Everything's going to be ok from now on, right me?"_

_The moment Labrys said that, her shadow nodded silently before glowing blue and disappearing. In its place was a larger robotic woman that resembled Labrys without an axe and with a metallic face._

"_Is that what I think it is?" Naruto asked._

"_Ariadne, my persona." Labrys said calmly as her persona turned into a card and descended into her._

"_Right, well if that's over we should head to the exit." said a brown haired boy. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot that we haven't introduced ourselves to Labrys yet, I'm Yosuke Hanamura."_

"_I'm Yu Narukami, it's a pleasure to meet you." Yu said calmly._

"_The name's Chie Satonaka, let's hang out sometime." Chie said with a smile._

"_Oh, I'm Yukiko Amagi." Yukiko said politely. "I've heard wonderful things about you from Mitsuru-san and Aigis-san."_

"_We met, I'm just glad you're ok." Kanji said._

"_I'm Teddie, and might I add you are a beary beautiful lady." Teddie said with a grin only to have Chie and Yukiko glare at him._

"_I apologize for Teddie's behavior, he doesn't quite know how to handle these situations. My name is Naoto Shirogane." Naoto said calmly._

"_You already met Mitsuru and Aigis, so I'll make this quick." said a white haired man in a cape. "I'm Akihiko Sanada."_

"_Well if the introductions are taken care of, let's get going." Yu said. "Teddie can you lead the way?"_

"_Just leave it to me sensei, if the exit is in the same place it should be on the roof of this school." Teddie said excitedly. "Follow me."_

_As the others started to walk out Naruto walked up to Labrys._

"_Hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked._

"_I guess so, I'm just glad everything is over." Labrys said._

"_Yeah, so am I." Naruto said. "Let's catch up with the others."_

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"_This is the exit?" Akihiko asked. "It looks small."_

_In front of the group was a stack of television sets._

"_Trust me, it looks small but we can get out through here." Yosuke said. "It's a lot bigger on the other side."_

"_There is one other matter." Mitsuru said suddenly. "I'd like Labrys to come back with us once we go through."_

"_Hold on, shouldn't Labrys get to decide where she goes?" Naruto asked. "She might be a robot but she shouldn't be told what to do."_

_The moment Naruto said that, Labrys froze and her eyes turned grey._

"_Labrys, what's going on?" Yu asked before Labrys swung her axe at him._

"_That should be simple, no matter what you may believe she isn't human and never will be." said a voice from behind Naruto. "Of course that means it's simple to control her as well."_

"_No way, what are you doing here?" Naruto said turning to the extremely pale man behind him. "Did you do this Orochimaru?"_

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"Orochimaru is involved?" Tsunade asked suddenly. "This is worse than we thought."

"No, I don't know how but whoever is responsible knows everything about Orochimaru and the Akatsuki." Naruto said. "That's part of the reason we need to find and stop him."

"Naruto, if the Akatsuki is involved we need to warn the other kage." Shizune said.

"This isn't something they can handle, the only other person who could help us fight is Octopops." Naruto said.

"It's because you two are the only Jinchuuriki left isn't it." Tsunade said calmly. "Alright we'll send a copy of your report to the Raikage along with a request for his brother's cooperation."

"Thank you very much, once we handle this we'll help you in the war." Labrys said.

"Thank you, we'll need all the help we can get." Shizune said.

"I think you should tell us the rest of the report Naruto." Tsunade said.

"Right." Naruto said.

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"_That's my secret, now then shall I destroy the defective robot for you?" Orochimaru asked calmly._

"_Shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto said angrily._

"_You can see the truth of the matter for yourself, she's going to kill everyone here including you." Orochimaru said calmly. "That's all there is to it."_

"_No, you are wrong." Aigis said suddenly. "My sister is not going to harm anyone."_

"_You clearly don't understand, very well I'll just have to destroy all of you myself." Orochimaru said as his eyes flashed yellow._

'_It's not him Naruto, there's something else going on.' Kurama said suddenly._

_I had a feeling; Orochimaru wants Sasuke not Labrys, Naruto thought._

"_Naruto, we should work together and stop him." Aigis said calmly._

"_That sounds good to me." Naruto said. "How long does it last?"_

"_I should be able to maintain Orgia Mode for five minutes before I overheat." Aigis said._

"_I hope that's enough time." Naruto said. "I'm going to try sage mode."_

"_Understood, the others will try and stop Labrys without hurting her." Aigis said. "This fight is our responsibility."_

"_So you can't defeat me yourself Naruto, I'm disappointed." Orochimaru said calmly._

"_Your battle is with me, Activating Orgia Mode." Aigis said._

"_Oh, well that's quite the interesting trick." Orochimaru said calmly. "Of course I have a few of my own, Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb."_

_With those words Orochimaru launched his jutsu towards Aigis only to have her jump through it and throw a punch at his face._

"_You are not going to lay a hand on my sister." Aigis said angrily._

"_Why are you so defensive of her, you can see that she's harming everyone and she's not in control of her own actions." Orochimaru said catching Aigis' punch. "It would be better for everyone if the robot was just destroyed."_

"_That is not going to happen." Aigis said before pointing her fingers at Orochimaru and firing her built in guns._

"_No, that's not the real him." Naruto said suddenly throwing a kunai into Orochimaru's hand. "I'll take care of this Aigis."_

"_Well, you're a sage just like Jiraiya was." Orochimaru said calmly. "This may make things interesting."_

_The moment he said that, a fist struck Orochimaru from behind._

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu, you're going to explain exactly what you're doing and why you did this." Naruto said as his clone disappeared._

"_Impressive, so this is what you all are capable of." Orochimaru said in a different voice. "I'll admit I wasn't expecting this, then again it just means that the next time will be even better."_

_With those words Orochimaru disappeared._

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"After that we left and ended up in a department store, that was interesting, but we discussed what happened and Mitsuru gave Labrys a way to get in touch once they find out what's going on." Naruto said.

"I see, well until we hear from the other kage or from Mitsuru, you two are welcome to stay in the village." Tsunade said calmly.

"Thank you very much." Labrys said politely.

"It's my pleasure." Tsunade said calmly as Naruto and Labrys walked out of the office. "I wasn't expecting all this when I sent him on that mission."

"It just proves that the world is a lot different than we knew." Shizune said.

"That couldn't be more true." Tsunade said thoughtfully.

(Naruto's report to Tsunade has finally ended but the one responsible is still free. Next chapter Naruto will introduce Labrys to more of his friends in the village and the akatsuki will make an unusual move. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	6. Desperate Measures

"Hey Naruto, do you think that the one behind the P1 Grand Prix is a ninja like you?" Labrys asked

"I don't know, but I promise I'll catch the guy who did it and make him explain himself." Naruto said confidently.

"What are you talking about now Naruto?" asked a voice from behind him. "Is this part of your mission or are you doing something reckless again?"

"It is part of my mission Kiba." Naruto said turning around to see the brown haired boy and his dog. "Man, Akamaru just keeps getting bigger."

As Naruto said that, Akamaru barked happily.

"Is that so fellow, well in that case you must be the healthiest and strongest dog in the village." Labrys said with a smile.

"Wait you can talk to dogs Labrys?" Naruto asked.

"Well, sort of." Labrys said. "It's more like I can tell what he's thinking. Back when I was getting my personality I met a dog named Snowy, I guess it left an impression on me."

"Well anyone who likes dogs is ok in my book." Kiba said. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot your name's Labrys?"

"Yeah, and I'm guessing yours is Kiba and this is Akamaru right?" Labrys asked.

"That's right, oh yeah my teammates should be here soon if you want to meet them." Kiba said with a grin.

"Alright, that sounds good." Labrys said politely. "Thanks."

"No problem." Kiba said getting off of Akamaru.

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"Well this certainly changes things." Kabuto said quietly. "Still there must be some reason that Tsunade would risk sending Naruto to the middle of nowhere just before the war."

"True, however if we intend to learn if he's mastered jutsu we don't know about we'll need to send someone to look into this Inaba that your sources mentioned." Tobi said calmly. "The only question is who."

"Actually, I have the perfect person in mind." Kabuto said. "During my, excursion I managed to pick up some of Kisame's blood, that should be sufficient for information."

"Then go ahead." Tobi said. "The sooner we find out what Naruto Uzumaki was up to the better."

"Of course, although I'll need to collect a sacrifice for the jutsu." Kabuto said with a smirk.

"That won't be enough you two." said a voice from above them. "Now I'll just tell you one time, don't get in my way and you won't be hurt."

"What, who's there?" Tobi asked as the two leaders of the akatsuki army turned towards the intruder.

"My name isn't important for you two, just know that I can and will kill you both if you get in the way." said a man hidden in shadows. "Now I suggest you abandon your plans before you get hurt."

"Oh, and how exactly do you plan on beating the two of us?" Kabuto asked just before two katana's appeared at his neck.

"Does this answer your question?" the man asked. "Now then, I'm giving you a chance to prolong your lives so I suggest you take it."

With those words the man disappeared.

"There's something different about him, we should be on our guard." Kabuto said.

"We'll deal with him if it becomes necessary, the priority is capturing the two remaining Jinchuuriki." Tobi said calmly. "We should focus on gathering intelligence for now."

"Right, I'll be back soon." Kabuto said walking out of the cave.

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"Oh Kiba-kun, do we have a mission?" asked a blue haired girl with white eyes.

"I don't think we do Hinata, I was actually talking with Naruto and his new friend." Kiba said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Labrys." Labrys said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you Labrys." Hinata said. "I'm Hinata Hyuga."

"Labrys, would it be alright if I asked you something?" Shizune asked suddenly while running up to the group.

"Oh, sure what's up?" Labrys asked calmly.

"Lady Tsunade wanted to see the power you mentioned in person, would that be alright with you?" Shizune asked calmly.

"Sure, I can do that." Labrys said closing her eyes. "Let's go Ariadne."

As Labrys said that, a blue glow surrounded her and Ariadne appeared above her head.

"Whoa, you can do that?" Kiba asked in shock as Hinata activated her Byakugan.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked in shock. "You have the same chakra as the person you summoned."

"It's not a summoning, that is Labrys." Naruto said.

"Wait are you serious?" Kiba asked. "What is that?"

"It's my persona, it's hard to explain but this is the power we mentioned." Labrys said.

"I see. Well this is definitely interesting." Tsunade said calmly. "What can you do with this power?"

"Well, to be honest I haven't used it yet." Labrys said. "Oh yeah, there is one thing."

As Labrys said that Ariadne dropped a red thread into the ground before spears made of the same thread came out of the ground in the same spot.

"That's quite impressive, and everyone else you mentioned has the same power?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, well it's kind of complicated." Naruto said. "They do but it's different."

"It has to do with the specific abilities of the individual right?" asked a man from behind Kiba. "That's what you meant about having the same power but yet differences right?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" Labrys asked.

"It's the most likely explanation, and given that this power doesn't seem to correspond to our jutsu it's likely not a kekei genkai either." the figure said calmly.

"Shino, better late than never I guess." Kiba said with a smirk. "As long as we're all here do you have anything we can do for the village lady Tsunade?"

"Not at the moment, but are your clans prepared?" Tsunade asked calmly.

"Yeah, we're ready whenever you need us." Kiba said confidently.

"Everyone in the village is ready to go at a moment's notice." Shino said calmly.

"Oh yeah, Tenten." Naruto said suddenly. "We were going to ask her if she could look at your axe."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Labrys said before Ariadne vanished. "I'm right behind you Naruto, it was nice to meet you guys."

"Yeah, we'll see you around Labrys." Kiba said with a grin.

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"Mitsuru-san, something just occurred to me regarding the situation with my sister." Aigis said suddenly.

"What is it Aigis?" Mitsuru asked.

"The one responsible for kidnapping Labrys, he was not using his true form however if what the report said was accurate they must be able to use a persona as well." Aigis said.

"She's right, only persona users could pass through which means the only way Labrys could have been thrown inside would be if it was a persona user who did it." Fuuka said.

"If we're dealing with a persona user, we might need to call in the others." Akihiko said. "Should we let them know to be ready?"

"No, I have a feeling we'll be receiving back-up from Inaba and Naruto's friends." Mitsuru said calmly.

"You have a point, those guys didn't seem the type to just leave it to us." Akihiko said. "Plus this happened in their home, like it or not they're involved."

"I agree, alright if something happens inform Takeba, Iori, and Amada of the situation." Mitsuru said to one of her maids.

"Of course." the maid said respectfully.

"Now all we need to do is wait for the culprit's next move." Mitsuru said calmly.

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"Sempai, what do you think he meant by the next time being better?" Rise asked nervously.

"I don't know, but whatever he meant we should be careful." Yu said. "We have no idea what this guy is capable of, and the last time we fought someone with a persona it was Adachi."

"I know, but it can't be Adachi who's responsible he's been in jail the whole time." Chie said. "Dojima-san even said he was the model prisoner."

"I know that's what doesn't make sense." Yosuke said. "This guy has to have a persona since he can pass through the TV, but who could he be?"

"Do you think Mitsuo managed to gain the power of persona somehow?" Yukiko asked.

"I doubt it, he never accepted his shadow and unless one of us threw him into the TV he wouldn't have the power." Teddie said. "I think it's someone we don't know, maybe a friend of Mit-chan."

"With friends like that she wouldn't need any enemies." Chie said "Still, who could it be?"

"All we can do for now is wait for him to make his next move." Naoto said thoughtfully.

"Agreed, let's keep our eyes open for anything unusual." Yu said.

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"Alright, I think I get it now do you mind if I take another look at the blade?" Tenten asked politely.

"Sure, here you go." Labrys said placing her axe on the table.

"Whoever made this is really talented, but the blades can be improved." Tenten said. "I have a little trick to guarantee any blade is at its peak, just wait and see what this does."

As she said that Tenten began polishing the blades of the axe, causing them to shine in the light.

"Awesome, thanks again Tenten." Labrys said.

"It's my pleasure, plus it gave us a chance to talk." Tenten said. "Speaking of which there is something I wanted to ask you."

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Labrys asked.

"When are you going to admit to Naruto that you like him?" Tenten asked. "I mean he's not exactly the brightest bulb, he's got a great heart and will do anything for his friends. I just don't think he would notice how you feel without being told."

"What are you talking about?" Labrys asked defensively. "I mean Naruto's a great guy and everything, but that doesn't mean I like him."

"Ok, whatever you say Labrys." Tenten said mischievously. "I'll just talk with Ino."

"Hey come on, that's not fair." Labrys said nervously.

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"Well I certainly wasn't expecting this." Kisame said calmly. "You need my help again?"

"Yes, your talents are going to be quite useful in finding out what kind of power Naruto would have obtained on a recent mission, it's a small town known as Inaba." Kabuto said. "I trust you'll be able to find out what happened."

"This almost seems too simple." Kisame said. "I'll get the answers in no time."

With those words Kisame disappeared.

"I wonder what he'll find out." Kabuto said calmly as he placed a small pebble on a table. "I might just keep an eye on this one."

"We'll find out soon enough, and then we can decide on our next move." Tobi said calmly.

"Of course, that should be simple enough." Kabuto said calmly.

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"So this is Inaba, I doubt that anything of use can be found in a dump like this." Kisame said calmly.

"I suppose at first glance you might think that way, but Inaba grows on people." said an old lady walking up to him. (1)

"I see, did you happen to notice a blonde boy with whiskers on his face?" Kisame asked.

"Do you mean Naruto?" the lady asked. "He had to leave a week ago, but he was staying at the Amagi Inn if memory serves, you can catch the bus there."

"Thank you very much." Kisame said walking towards the bus stop. "This is ridiculous, unless this place has some form of jinchuuriki training program it won't help him."

"You, you're working with the akatsuki right?" asked a teenager with red hair and an X-shaped scar on his face.

"You could say that, and who would you be?" Kisame asked calmly.

"My name is Minazuki, Sho Minazuki." Minazuki said calmly. "Now you can tell the others that their warning has expired."

"Oh, and what does that mean?" Kisame asked.

"It means you'll be dying right here, my plans don't mix with your own. This world will end soon enough." Minazuki said coldly. "Persona."

With those words a shadowy figure appeared behind Minazuki.

"What in the world is that?" Kisame asked. Without Samahada I'm at a disadvantage in this fight, he thought.

"Die." Minazuki said calmly before stabbing Kisame through the chest with his two katanas.

"Nice try, but that won't be enough." Kisame said.

"I'm not finished yet." Minazuki said. "Tsukuyomi finish him."

With those words, the shadow behind Minazuki began to glow and sliced Kisame in half before a demonic glow caused him to vanish. (2)

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"That's insane, he's trying to destroy the world?" Kabuto asked in shock.

"What, who?" Tobi asked.

"Our mysterious guest, I have no idea who he is or what he's doing but he's serious." Kabuto said. "His plan is to destroy the entire world, and he might have the strength to do it."

"Our options are clearly limited, as it stands I can't think of any option to take that can ensure we stop him." Tobi said.

"Actually, we do have one option." Kabuto said. "Given the circumstances it may be the only chance we have."

"You have a point, very well I'll inform them myself." Tobi said before disappearing.

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"Oh hey Tenten, were you able to help Labrys?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, everything is better than ever." Tenten said. "I have to say Labrys is really interesting."

"Ok, that's enough Tenten." Labrys said just a chair flew out of the hokage's office.

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"I'm not joking, four clones are currently speaking with the other kages." Tobi said calmly. "We have a mutual threat, my plans won't destroy this planet however he intends to."

"How can you possibly think that any of us will trust you for any amount of time?" Tsunade asked.

"Three reasons, first I don't have any desire to see this world get destroyed and I know you don't either. Second, I know more about our common adversary than you do." Tobi said calmly. "And third, I came here to you in person with this offer. You don't have to trust me, but if you want any hope of stopping this threat we'll need to cooperate."

"You honestly believe that the five great nations can't handle one man?" Tsunade asked.

"He's no normal man, he possesses abilities the likes of which I've never seen." Tobi said. "One power in particular stood out from the others, he called it persona."

The moment they heard that Tsunade and Shizune glanced at each other.

"Alright, until this situation is dealt with we'll work with you." Tsunade said. "We'll keep in touch."

"Of course, once this is dealt with we can settle our little dispute." Tobi said calmly before vanishing.

(Tobi and Kabuto have encountered Sho Minazuki, and have decided to form a temporary alliance with the five nations in order to stop him from destroying the world. Next chapter the Shadow Operatives, Investigation team, akatsuki, and Leaf shinobi will all learn of the P1 Climax. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Kisame simply transformed in order to blend in.)

(2) (Minazuki has access to the powers of Hinokagutsuchi and that was enough to seal away Kisame permanently.)


	7. The pieces gather in Inaba

"Do you think it's possible?" Shizune asked.

"Yes, we need to inform the other kage immediately." Tsunade said. "Shizune tell the villagers to meet at the chunin exam stadium, if we're going up against this power we need everyone to know what it's capable of."

"Right." Shizune said running out of the hokage's mansion.

Alright, I only hope they don't mind an unexpected visitor, Tsunade thought before teleporting away.

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"Hokage, what are you doing here?" asked a red haired woman in a blue dress. "Is something wrong?"

"Something is very wrong mizukage, there is a threat far greater than the akatsuki that you need to be made aware of." Tsunade said. "You need to come with me as quickly as possible."

"What's going on Tsunade?" the mizukage asked seriously.

"Someone is planning to destroy the world Mei, and if I'm right it's likely that whoever it is has the power to do just that." Tsunade said. "The five kage need to see what we're going up against."

"I understand, so which one's next?" Mei asked calmly.

"Gaara, the kazekage." Tsuande said before the two women teleported away.

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"Oh Naruto, Tenten, Labrys." Shizune said suddenly. "I need to ask you three a huge favor."

"What's going on Shizune?" Tenten asked.

"I need you to help me tell everyone to go to the chunin stadium." Shizune said. "Naruto, Labrys, I need to ask you something else."

"What's going on?" Naruto asked seriously.

"Whoever it was that was responsible for the events in your report, they're making their move, but that's not the only thing you need to know." Shizune said. "I can't really believe it myself but Madara personally requested an alliance against him."

"Madara, if he thinks we need his help he's dead wrong." Naruto said angrily.

"Naruto, we don't know what this person is capable of." Shizune said. "All we do know is he has the persona power you mentioned. That's why we need everyone to know what it is."

"I get it, you need me to show them what a persona is right?" Labrys asked.

"If you can, that would really be helpful." Shizune said. "Naruto, can you help Tenten with your shadow clones?"

"Right, I'll let the villagers know what's going on, but I don't trust Madara." Naruto said.

"I know, but for now we don't have any option." Shizune said nervously.

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"I understand, I can't say that working with them is my first choice." Gaara said. "Still if that power you mentioned is as dangerous as you say we won't have any choice."

"I know, but I can't tell you how powerful this power is." Tsunade said. "We're all going to see it firsthand at the chunin exam stadium."

"Understood, in that case we'll inform the other kages and head to the leaf as soon as possible." Mei said calmly as the three kage teleported away.

"Kazekage, hokage, mizukage, what are the three of you doing here?" asked the tsuchikage

"That's a long story, the short answer is the war is postponed for another matter, one that is forcing all sides to join forces." Mei said. "Even the akatsuki are willing to cooperate for the time being, that should inform you of our situation."

"The akatsuki, why am I not surprised that you would be so eager to work with them hokage?" asked a voice from behind the four kages.

"Lord raikage, this is no time for that." Gaara said. "If this power is as great as Tsunade says an alliance is our only option."

"What makes you certain that this power is that dangerous?" the raikage asked.

"You'll be able to make that judgment call yourself, we'll see this power firsthand at the chunin exam stadium in the hidden leaf village." Mei said. "We can all make a decision after seeing that power."

"Very well, in that case we should get going right now." The tsuchikage said calmly.

"Agreed." Tsunade said. "Let's all see what this power truly is capable of."

With those words all five kage teleported away from the tsuchikage's office.

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"You're kidding, that axe wasn't Labrys' weapon?" Kiba asked in shock.

"Yeah, she has an even stronger one." Naruto said. "It's incredible."

"Alright, well I guess we'll see what this power is for ourselves." Ino said. "What do you think Shikamaru?"

"Oh man, I guess we don't have a choice do we?" Shikamaru asked. "Alright let's get going."

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"Labrys, are you alright?" Naruto asked. "I mean you don't need to fight if you don't want to."

"Thanks Naruto, but if it means we can stop this creep once and for all then we need to fight." Labrys said.

"Alright, everyone should be here soon." Naruto said. "I'll be right here if you need anything."

"Thanks, that's really nice of you Naruto." Labrys said with a smile before walking to the center of the stadium.

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"Who is that girl?" asked the raikage.

"Her name is Labrys." Tsunade said. "She's the only person who can demonstrate this power to us."

"I see, well it certainly looks rather tame." Mei said. "Though that axe is quite impressive."

"That's not the power I'm talking about." Tsunade said as Naruto appeared next to her. "Well, are you ready?"

"Yeah, she's going to be fine." Naruto said. "I can tell."

"We'll see, so far it looks unimpressive." The raikage said calmly.

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"Alright, this is it." Labrys said quietly. "Let's go Ariadne."

With those words Labrys' persona appeared above her.

"A glorified summoning, that's all this power is." the raikage yelled in anger. "Why are we wasting our time on this?"

"No wait, that's no summoning." the tsuchikage said. "Tsunade you have shinobi with the Byakugan right, I want to check something."

"True, Neji what do you see?" Tsunade asked calmly.

"It's unbelievable, they don't just have identical chakra's they're sharing the chakra and amplifying it." Neji said in shock.

"What, how is that even possible?" the raikage asked in shock.

"It's because that's the power she has." Naruto said. "Persona."

"I see, so we have access to the same power that our adversary possesses." said a voice from behind the kages.

"Madara, so it's true." Mei said. "You're willing to cooperate against a common enemy."

"Of course, while we don't see eye to eye on several things neither of us wish to see this world end." Tobi said. "In fact my plans specifically involve the world not ending."

Suddenly a massive shadow appeared over the chunin stadium.

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"Yukari, someone is calling you, they claim to know something related to a group called SEES." said a woman with a microphone.

SEES, what the heck, Yukari thought. "I'll be right there."

"Alright, I'll let him know." the woman said calmly.

"Hello?" Yukari asked.

"I heard you were a former member of SEES, or should I say a Shadow Operative." said a voice on the phone. "I have quite the interesting captive audience for my plans, you might recognize them, a blonde scrap heap, washed up boxer, a girl with the most interesting shade of green hair, and the head of the Kirijo group."

"Mitsuru-sempai, Akihiko-sempai, Fuuka-chan, Aigis, who are you?" Yukari asked angrily.

"Just get your little back-up team to Inaba, that's where you'll find out everything." the voice said before hanging up.

"Inaba, I need to let the other's know what's going on." Yukari said. "I hope he picks up."

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"Sempai, what's going on?" Kanji asked nervously. "A red fog is starting to surround the town."

"I don't know, but it might have something to do with what happened with Naruto and Labrys." Yu said. "The Investigation team is back in action, so we need to look for anything that could be causing the fog."

"Right, we'll figure out exactly what's going on." Chie said confidently.

"I hope so, I hate to say it but our best place to look is the midnight channel." Yosuke said. "That's where this started and if it's related to the P1 Grand Prix it might show up again."

"You're right, let's make sure we keep our eyes open." Yukiko said calmly.

"There's no need, I can tell you all exactly what's going on." said a figure from behind them.

"What the, who are you?" Chie asked defensively.

"My name is Kabuto Yakushi, I know Naruto Uzumaki." Kabuto said calmly. "You have friends who aren't here right now correct?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?" Teddie asked.

"We have a common adversary and we'll need all the help we can get, I suggest you gather your allies because things are getting difficult now and we need to make sure that he's stopped." Kabuto said.

"Hold on, make sure who's stopped?" Yu asked.

"He said his name was Sho Minazuki, and he possesses powers the likes of which I doubt you've ever seen." Kabuto said disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Sho Minazuki, I wonder if he was the one who kidnapped Labrys." Yukiko said thoughtfully.

"If he was we should let Naoto and Rise know that we've found the culprit." Yosuke said. "Oh yeah, Naruto and Labrys should hear the news."

"You're right, actually there's something I need to do now." Yu said. "I'll be right back."

"Right, be careful sempai." Kanji said calmly.

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"What in the world is that thing?" the raikage asked.

"This is merely my invitation to the two people who competed in the P1 Grand Prix, the P1 Climax is soon going to begin." said a figure above the shinobi. "I trust you're going to make an appearance, I'm certain they'll need your assistance as well."

With those words a massive screen appeared in midair depicting four people chained to posts on top of a building.

"No way, those are the Shadow Operative guys." Naruto asked. "What did you do to them?"

"If you want to see them alive again return to Inaba, I'll be expecting you both." The figure said before the shadow disappeared.

"Naruto, you and Labrys are the only ones with experience fighting against these people so you'll be the leader of our forces." Tsunade said. "We'll stop him and rescue your friends."

"Naruto, we have one advantage over him." Kabuto said walking up to him. "I can perform Orochimaru's Jutsu in order to revive powerful shinobi from the past, it will ensure our victory."

"No, we won't use the Reanimation." Naruto said angrily.

"Alright, it's your choice." Kabuto said as Tobi walked up to him.

"Naruto Uzumaki, for the time being we are allies, I trust we can cooperate." Tobi said calmly.

"For now, but I don't trust you." Naruto said.

"Understandable, well shall we be off?" Tobi asked calmly.

"Right, next stop Inaba." Labrys said. Don't worry you guys, I'll make sure to rescue you, she thought.

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"Wait, what do you mean?" Yu asked nervously.

"This fog is effecting your wild card ability, the only persona we can give you are Izanagi and Izanagi-No-Okami." Margaret said. "I apologize for the inconvience."

"It's alright, I can make these two work." Yu said calmly.

"Hold on, there is one other thing we can do to help him." Marie said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Yu asked.

"Marie that's not an option, we aren't allowed to interfere in the actions taken by our guest." Margaret said.

"This isn't a normal situation, plus the nose isn't even here." Marie said.

"What are you talking about Marie?" Yu asked.

"If it were to become necessary we can utilize personas in combat, but it's not something we should do unless there's no other option." Margaret explained.

"Well if you don't want to help that's fine, but it's my responsibility to protect this town so I'm going to do whatever I can." Marie said grabbing a persona card. "If this creep thinks he can mess with my home he has another thing coming."

"Thanks Marie." Yu said. "Don't worry Margaret, everything will work out."

With those words Yu and Marie exited the velvet room.

"That's not what concerns me, this will be the first time two of our guests will have to fight, there's no telling what the repercussions may be." Margaret said thoughtfully. "Perhaps observing this will be interesting after all."

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"So what's the plan Yuka-tan?" Junpei asked. "You're the most senior operative."

"Alright, someone kidnapped the others, we need to find and rescue them." Yukari said.

"Right, but how are we going to find them?" Ken asked. "We don't even know our way around Inaba."

"Don't worry about that Ken, we've got Koromaru." Junpei said. "He'll find them in no time."

Upon hearing that, Koromaru barked in agreement.

"Right, let's get going." Yukari said calmly before the four shadow operatives walked into the red fog surrounding the town.

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"Naruto, he said this is going to be the P1 Climax right?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, which means those rules probably still apply." Naruto said. "We should stick in groups just in case. Grandma Tsunade, if you see anyone you don't recognize they're going to have the same power as Labrys."

"I see, still we should try to be discreet." Tsunade said. "I think groups of two will be best, so I'll work with the mizukage."

"I suppose you'll want to split the two of us up so I'll work with the tsuchikage." Kabuto said calmly.

"I shall aid lord raikage in that case." Tobi said calmly.

"You two are the most likely to be able to stop him and put an end to this, so you'll need to work together." Tsunade said to Naruto and Labrys. "We'll do whatever we can to support you two."

"Right, don't worry about a thing." Naruto said. "We'll find him and make him stop his crazy plans."

"Naruto's right, don't worry we'll take care of everything." Labrys said with a smile.

"Right, let's move out." Tsunade said.

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"Oh man, and here I thought things were actually going to calm down after last year." said a man in a prison cell.

"You're able to wield a persona correct?" asked a red haired teenager.

"What does that matter?" the man asked. "It's not like I can do anything, plus I don't even want to."

"Allow me to make one thing perfectly clear, you can either aid me in gathering the persona fragments I require, or you can die here and now." the teenager said drawing two katana blades.

"You don't really give me any choice, alright let's get going." the man said. "I could use some exercise after everything that's happened."

"A wise decision." the teenager said as a red fog engulfed the two of them, and when it faded they had vanished.

(Everyone is gathering in Inaba for the P1 Climax. Next chapter Naoto and Rise will arrive, and the battles will begin. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	8. The P1 Climax has begun

"Hold on you guys, shouldn't we meet up with the others and come up with a plan?" Labrys asked. "I mean there are people with the same power as me."

"You mean the high school students from this town?" Kabuto asked calmly. "They know what's going on, if we meet them they'll be willing to help us."

"Right, keep in touch you guys." Naruto said before the shinobi spread out into Inaba.

"Hey Naruto, why do you think he's doing all of this?" Labrys asked. "I mean it doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know, but whatever the reason we're going to find out." Naruto said.

'Kid stop beating around the bush already.' Kurama said in annoyance. 'We both know that the longer you spend with her the more you're falling for her.'

The moment Kurama said that Naruto almost fell over his feet in shock.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Labrys asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto said. "Let's keep going Labrys."

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"What happened, this is terrible." Rise said nervously. "I need to find sempai and the others."

"Oh, well this is certainly a surprise." said a voice from behind Rise. "You were the host of the previous tournament correct?"

"Huh, who's there?" Rise asked turning to see a woman in a blue outfit standing next to a building.

"Oh, my sincere apologies, my name is Elizabeth." Elizabeth said calmly. "I came to ask if the competition was continuing."

"Oh, I don't know but if it is sempai is going to stop it." Rise said confidently.

"I see, you possess the power of persona as well?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"I guess, yeah I can use a persona but…" Rise started to say before Elizabeth tried to hit her in the head with a book. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"This is a competition where persona users fight correct?" Elizabeth asked. "I believe that includes the two of us."

"Wait, I can't fight you." Rise said nervously. "My persona can't fight."

"Is that so, is it that your persona can't fight or that you don't have the resolve to fight to protect your friends?" Elizabeth asked.

"What are you talking about?" Rise asked. "I'd do anything to protect my friends, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is that so, then prove it by facing me in battle." Elizabeth said calmly. "Come Thanatos."

"Wait, I told you that…" Rise started to say before shaking her head. "No, I need to help sempai, I can't just rely on everyone else all the time."

With those words Himiko appeared behind Rise before shooting a beam of light into the air that turned around and shot into her face.

"Oh my, this is quite the interesting phenomenon." Elizabeth said calmly.

"Rise-chan, are you alright?" Naoto said suddenly running between Elizabeth and Rise.

"I'm ok, it's good to see you Naoto-kun." Rise said. "Alright Elizabeth, you wanted to fight then fine we'll fight."

"Very well, I look forward to seeing how this change has influenced your power." Elizabeth said calmly. "Your fate is in the cards."

Rise-chan, this is incredible, Naoto thought.

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"Yukari-san, have you noticed?" Ken asked. "This feels like the dark hour, but didn't we stop it?"

"I know, but something is definitely strange around here." Yukari said.

Suddenly Koromaru started growling.

"Huh, what's up Koro-chan?" Junpei asked.

"It might be the one responsible for all of this, get ready you guys." Yukari said drawing her evoker. "Stay quiet, this could be dangerous."

"I understand that you disapprove of our cooperation, but until we achieve our common goals we should at least be civil." said a voice from around the corner.

"For the last time Madara, we may be forced to work together but that doesn't mean I'm going to discuss battle strategy with you." said a second voice. "Wait, did you hear that?"

Crap, they know we're here, Yukari thought nodding to Junpei.

"Who are you guys, do you have anything to do with what happened to our friends?" Junpei asked.

"What are you talking about, you're the ones working with the one responsible." the raikage said angrily. "Madara, let's make these two give us some answers."

"I agree completely." Tobi said.

"Now." Yukari said suddenly as the two persona users fired their evokers into their heads. "Isis."

"Trismegistus." Junpei said calmly.

"It seems they have the same power as that girl, perhaps we should…" Tobi started to say before the raikage charged lighting chakra in his hand and threw a punch towards Junpei.

"Garudyne." Yukari said quickly.

The sudden blast of wind sent the raikage into a wall.

"Let's go Yuka-tan, Agidyne." Junpei said as flames appeared around Tobi.

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"Wait, you want me to fight those kids?" asked a man in a suit. "That's more trouble than it's worth."

"Is that a fact, I would have assumed you would want a chance to say hello to your old friends." said a figure with red hair.

"I wouldn't exactly call them friends, but I guess you have a point." the man said. "I wonder how those guys are doing."

"Why don't you see for yourself." the red haired figure said calmly.

"I might take you up on that offer." the man said thoughtfully. "I'll see you around partner."

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"Thanatos, Agidyne." Elizabeth said calmly.

"Makarakarn." Rise said quickly just before the flames hit her, reflecting them towards Elizabeth.

"Impressive, you're resolve has clearly granted you more power." Elizabeth said calmly before throwing a persona card towards Rise.

"Ziodyne." said a voice from behind her just as a bolt of lighting destroyed the card.

"Sempai." Rise said quickly.

"Are you two alright?" Yu asked quickly running up with the rest of the investigation team.

"Oh my, this must be the strength of bonds." Elizabeth said calmly. "Would one of you happen to be the wildcard?"

"Blue clothes, are you from the velvet room?" Marie asked.

"Yes, my name is Elizabeth. I am she who rules over power." Elizabeth said calmly. "Of course I am currently neglecting my duties. May I ask who all of you are?"

"I'm Yu Narukami, and you were right I'm the wild card." Yu said calmly.

"Yosuke Hanamura at your service." Yosuke said.

"The name's Chie Satonaka." Chie said enthusiastically.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Elizabeth, my name is Yukiko Amagi." Yukiko said politely.

"I'm Kanji Tatsumi." Kanji said quickly.

"I'm Teddie." Teddie said with a smile.

"You already met Rise-chan, however I haven't yet introduced myself." Naoto said calmly. "My name is Naoto Shirogane."

"I guess that leaves me, Mariko Kusumi or Izanami-No-Mikoto if your prefer." Marie said calmly. "Though I usually go by Marie."

"I see, it's wonderful to meet so many unique people in such a short period of time." Elizabeth said. "It seems that whatever is disrupting this town is not being caused by any of you, my search will continue elsewhere. I look forward to seeing you again."

With those words Elizabeth turned and walked off into the red fog.

"So anybody else confused?" Yosuke asked.

"We can worry about that later, right now we should try and find Mitsuru-san and the others." Yu said. "Rise can you detect anybody?"

"I'll try, come Himiko." Rise said as her persona appeared in its original form. "No way, there are hundreds of people here."

"Great, just what are we up against?" Kanji asked irritably.

"Hold on, most of them feel like Naruto did." Rise said. "He might have brought his friends to help."

"Well we'll see, let's split up and try to find them." Yu said calmly. "I'll go with Marie, Naoto can you help out Rise?"

"Of course, that should be fine." Naoto said calmly.

"Alright, Yukiko and Chie you guys should stick together, and Yosuke you're with Teddie and Kanji." Yu said.

"That's all well and good, but wouldn't it make more sense for you kids to stick together in this situation?" asked someone on a nearby hill.

"No way, what are you doing here?" Chie asked in shock.

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"Naruto, what's wrong?" Labrys asked. "You've been acting nervous for a while now."

"I'm alright, I just want to make sure we catch the guy who caused you so much pain." Naruto said.

'Naruto, be careful I sense something strange nearby.' Kurama said cautiously.

Right, thanks Kurama, Naruto thought. "Alright, come out and show yourself." he said.

"It's been a while since our last encounter Naruto." said a figure in a black cloak.

"What's going on, I thought you were dead." Naruto said nervously. "Itachi Uchiha." (1)

'It's not really him, this is an illusion but be on your guard Naruto, things are not as they appear.' Kurama said quietly.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll handle this one." Labrys said as red pillars fell from the sky forming a ring around the three of them.

"So the defective machine wants to fight me, that's just going to make Naruto even more likely to get hurt." Itachi said coldly as his eyes turned yellow.

"No, I'm not going to hurt him." Labrys said angrily. "Come Ariadne."

With those words Labrys' persona appeared above her.

"So it seems you truly wish to oppose me, a foolish choice from a foolish machine." Itachi said calmly.

The moment Itachi said that, Labrys ran towards him and tried to cut him in half with her axe only to have him dodge it and shoot a fireball towards her.

'Naruto what are you doing, she doesn't have a chance against Itachi.' Kurama said. 'You need to help her.'

I know Kurama, I just need a little time to go into Sage Mode, Naruto thought, come on Labrys, I know you'll be alright.

"All you know is power, it makes it even more likely you'll harm those who are trying to help you." Itachi said calmly as an orange glow began to surround him. "Of course I can fight back with just as much as you can. This is my greatest strength, the Susano'o."

"Not bad, but the bigger they are the harder they fall." Labrys said launching her fist into the Susano'o.

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"Interesting, so this is the combat potential that lies within these persona." Tobi said walking through the flames. "It's even more impressive than I had initially anticipated, although it seems that while your persona is quite skilled in combat you are not."

The moment Tobi said that, the raikage flew past him and punched Junpei into a wall causing it to collapse around him.

"Junpei, alright now I'm getting mad." Yukari said. "Isis Magarudyne."

"Not again little girl." Tobi said as he started to absorb the winds from Yukari's attack.

"Now Koromaru." someone said suddenly before a flaming dog slammed into the raikage knocking him off balance.

"Nice timing Ken, now then Isis Mediarahan." Yukari said.

"Thanks Yuka-tan, now let's take these guys down." Junpei said confidently.

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"It can't be, Adachi?" Chie asked in shock.

"What's going on, why aren't you in prison?" Yosuke asked.

"Well to be honest I have things that I need to get done, and like last time you guys are going to get in my way aren't you?" Adachi asked lazily. "Well I guess you should just keep looking because I'm not in the mood to fight you again."

"That doesn't answer the question, didn't you say you would abide by the rules of this world so why aren't you?" Yu asked calmly.

"I don't need to give my resume to a bunch of kids, now if you'll excuse me I have business to attend to." Adachi said before walking off into the red fog.

"What's going on, why is Adachi here?" Rise asked. "You don't think he's responsible for the fog again do you?"

"There's no way to be sure, but we can't rule out the possibility." Yu said. "Rise is their anyone nearby?"

"Oh yeah, I think Naruto and Labrys are nearby." Rise said.

"Alright, Marie and I will go meet up with them, keep in touch." Yu said. "If you see anything, meet up back here in ten minutes."

"Right, good luck partner." Yosuke said calmly.

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"You're stronger than I thought, but you're no match for me." Itachi said coldly closing his eye.

"Labrys be careful." Naruto yelled quickly.

The moment Naruto said that, black flames appeared around Labrys.

"What the, what's going on?" Labrys asked nervously.

"Amaterasu, the inextinguishable black flames." Itachi said calmly. "A fitting end for a machine that caused her sister units to suffer the same fate."

'Naruto, how much longer is this going to take?' Kurama asked.

I'm ready, Naruto thought. "Sage Art: Rasenrengan." He said as he launched two rasengan into the Susano'o.

"So you finally decide to join the battle Naruto, that's to be expected." Itachi said calmly.

"Be careful, Itachi's really strong." Naruto said. "He still has a lot more tricks up his sleeves."

"I know, but I've got an idea." Labrys said. "Ariadne, give Naruto a boost."

"What are you planning?" Itachi asked. "That won't help you defeat me."

"Maybe, or maybe it will." Labrys said confidently. "Now Naruto."

The moment she said that, a red thread threw Naruto down towards Itachi at high speeds.

"Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken." Naruto said throwing the jutsu.

The moment the jutsu hit Itachi, the Susano'o disappeared and Itachi collapsed to his knees.

"I should have expected that, you're strong Naruto. Unfortunately you won't be able to win." Itachi said before fading away in golden sparkles of light.

"What 's going on?" Labrys asked. "Why did he disappear?"

"I don't know, but we definitely need to find out." Naruto said.

"Naruto, Labrys, are you two here?" asked a voice.

"Yu, we're over here." Naruto said.

Something about this seems off, that was almost too easy, Kurama thought nervously. 'Be on your guard Naruto.'

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"Wait a second, why are you attacking us?" Tobi asked catching Junpei's bat. "It's clear that you want answers to what's going on as do we."

"Wait, you aren't working with the culprit?" Yukari asked. "Then who are you two?"

"We're associates of Naruto Uzumaki, have you heard the name before?" the raikage asked calmly.

"Wait, I think Mitsuru-san mentioned it when she called me a few days ago." Yukari said suddenly. "Alright, let's head over and find this Naruto kid, he has a lot to explain."

"Alright, come with us." Tobi said calmly. "We can all get some answers."

(The investigation team, shinobi forces, and Shadow Operatives are all preparing to meet up in order to plan a counter against the culprit. Next chapter Sho will make his presence known. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Sho is aware of Naruto's past and has access to his former enemies and their abilities through his shadow duplicates.)


	9. The battles continue

"There they are." Gaara said calmly. "Lord raikage are you alright?"

"I'm fine, still it looks like there are more of us than I expected." the raikage said. "Including the four who came with us and the eight over their that's at least six more teams."

"Actually, sir that's not quite how if works." Chie said. "The thing is we're kind of a team already and so it would be better if the eight of us stuck together."

"Yeah yeah, keep talking about your precious bonds and friendship. It all means shit in the long run." said a voice from above everyone. "Then again, I guess losers like you would want an excuse for being so pathetic."

"Who's there?" Kanji asked before a red haired teenager jumped off of a roof and landed in the center of the group. "What the, who are you supposed to be punk?"

"The name's Sho, Sho Minazuki, I'm what you might call a man of entertainment." Sho said with a grin.

"Entertainment, what could you possibly mean by that?" Junpei asked.

"When I'm around it's always Shotime." Sho said. "Anyway, you guys should get to fighting so my plans can move along."

"Wait, you're the one responsible for this?" Naruto asked.

"Oh if it isn't the fox boy from before." Sho said. "Naruto right, I'll keep your face in mind so do me a favor and repay the courtesy alright?"

"Hold on, who do you think you are causing so many problems for us?" Labrys asked. "I mean if you have something against me then just say it to my face instead of getting everyone else involved."

"What do you know, fine if you want answers you'll have to fight for them." Sho said jumping onto a nearby roof. "You want your answers, well they're right over there."

With those words part of the red fog slightly faded before revealing a massive tower where Yasogami would have been.

"No way, isn't that?" Junpei asked in disbelief.

"It is, but how in the world could it be here?" Ken asked.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shikamaru asked. "That's some kind of massive tower."

"It's Tarturus, a labyrinth that we thought we got rid of years ago." Yukari said. "Wait if Tarturus is back that means he's trying to."

"Yukari-san, we need to stop him quickly." Ken said nervously.

"Hold on, we're all on the same side so what is Tarturus?" Tsunade asked.

"She's right, the more we know the better our chances of defeating him." Naoto said calmly.

"You're right, ok well three years ago my friends and I were part of a school club called SEES." Yukari said. "It stood for the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, and our job was to fight against shadows."

"Wait, shadows were in our world?" Yosuke asked in disbelief. "I thought they were only in the TV world."

"Believe me, the shadows definitely weren't on some TV show." Jumpei said. "I still remember fighting them."

"Anyway, to make a long story short we managed to get to the top of Tarturus where we had to fight Nyx." Yukari said. "The goddess of night who could have ended the world easily."

As she said that the four shadow operatives looked down and stopped talking.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Naruto asked.

"It's just, bad memories." Junpei said quickly. "Anyway, the four of us know the most about that tower so we should lead you guys."

"You'll be doing no such thing." said a voice that slightly resembled Yosuke's.

"No way, that's impossible." Yosuke said. "What's my shadow doing here?"

"It's not your shadow Yosuke, it's something else." Yu said.

Suddenly a kunai struck the fake Yosuke in the leg.

"This is the best he can send against us, Naruto I'll take care of this one and catch up with you guys." Sasuke said calmly.

"Right, just be careful Sasuke." Naruto said. "These guys are stronger than they look."

"That's fine, I have more than a few tricks of my own." Sasuke said before a ring fell around him and the fake Junpei. "Let's get this over with."

"Come on you guys, let's get going." Rise said. "We need to stop Sho from whatever it is he's planning."

"Rise's right, let's get going." Yu said.

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"I know you have this big plan in mind, but would you mind sharing some of it with me?" Adachi asked lazily. "I mean I would like to know what I'm getting myself into."

"We're gathering persona and bijuu fragments in order to get rid of this miserable world." Sho said. "After your last attempt, I would have guessed you'd be more than willing to help me out."

"I guess you have a point, alright so what's next on the agenda?" Adachi asked calmly.

"Next, we wait and let them do the hard work for us." Sho said. "In the meantime I've got to go see someone about an old matter."

With those words Sho walked back into the tower leaving Adachi on his own.

"Oh man, and here I thought this was going to be simple." Adachi said to himself. "Oh well, maybe I'll get to see how much those kids have grown."

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"What's going on, where am I?" Mitsuru asked weakly.

"So the dog of the Kirijo group finally decides to wake up." asked a figure in front of her.

As she heard that Mitsuru's vision came back into focus revealing Minazuki standing in front of her. "What, who are you?"

"My name is of no concern to you, however I am here to tell you that soon enough this world will meet its end, the power of persona that you cherish so much will bring about the end of everything just as he desires." Minazuki said calmly.

"Who do you mean, what kind of person would want to see the world end?" Mitsuru asked.

"One who has exhausted every other option available to him, that's all I will say on the matter, just know that within the hour this world will be no more." Minazuki said calmly walking away from Mitsuru.

I can't use my persona because of this device limiting my mental strength, I only hope that the others can figure out what's going on and stop it in time, Mitsuru thought.

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"Jiraiya, finish him off right now." the fake Yosuke said cruelly.

"I'll admit you put up a decent fight, but that doesn't mean you're even close to enough to beat me." Sasuke said calmly before teleporting behind the fake Yosuke. "Chidori."

"What?" the fake Yosuke asked just before being pierced through the chest. "Impossible."

"Nothing is impossible before my eyes." Sasuke said calmly as the fake Yosuke faded into golden lights. "Now then, time to catch up with the others."

"Hold on a second, I might have some advice for you." said a man in a suit. "You want to stop Sho Minazuki right?"

"Who are you, and why should I trust you at all?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't have any reason to, I'm just telling you that I know more about this than you do and I'm willing to share my insight." the man said. "Oh by the way my name is Tohru Adachi."

"Adachi, I'll keep your offer in mind if we meet up again." Sasuke said calmly.

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'Naruto, are you sure having Sasuke fight that guy on his own was a good idea?" Kurama asked. 'He's strong but he doesn't have a real way of countering the stronger personas'

Don't worry; Sasuke can handle himself, Naruto thought confidently.

'Alright, well there's one other thing to take care of.' Kurama said with a smirk. 'Do I need to take control and let her know how you feel or are you going to just admit it?'

What are you talking about; I already told you that I don't feel that way, Naruto thought defensively.

'Sure, that's why you're so nervous.' Kurama said calmly. 'Look falling for a robot with a personality and a heart is far from the strangest thing you could do, and to be honest everyone else can tell you two like each other. The only ones who don't know seem to be you two.'

"Naruto, is everything ok?" Labrys asked thoughtfully.

"Huh, oh yeah everything's fine Labrys." Naruto said.

"Well would you mind explaining where everyone else is?" Labrys asked.

"What the, this is the Samagawa Flood Plain." Naruto said. "How did we get here?"

"That's what I want to know." Labrys said just before a fan flew past their heads.

"That must be the fake Yukiko, I'll handle it." Naruto said confidently.

"You won't be able to beat the two of us on your own." said a fake Chie. "Well Yukiko, shall we?"

"That sounds good Chie." said the fake Yukiko as the two of them summoned their personas.

"Come on Kurama." Naruto said.

With those words the nine tailed fox appeared above Naruto as the ring started to fall towards them.

"Let's go Ariadne." Labrys said suddenly.

"What the, Labrys?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"If they're going to work together then so are we." Labrys said.

"Right, in that case let's take these guys down." Naruto said confidently.

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"Come on, where is everyone?" Kanji asked irritably.

"I could be asking you the same thing, still as long as we're working together it would be beneficial to know each others strengths." the raikage said calmly.

"I guess you've got a point, my persona is pretty good at physical attacks and can do some damage with electricity." Kanji said.

"Fitting, well as the hidden cloud's raikage those are my strengths as well." the raikage said calmly. "So, if we want to get to that tower which way do we need to go from here?"

"You won't be going anywhere." said a voice from behind them. "You two are going to die here and now."

"Yeah, and what makes you think you can beat us anyway you punk?" Kanji asked angrily before turning to see a blue skinned man with a sword on his back.

"I am a rather skilled assassin, I doubt you'll be able to defeat me with your level of skill." said Kisame.

"You, my brother and I decapitated you once, it should be simple enough to handle a fake version of you." the raikage said as an aura of electricity appeared around his body.

"Take-Mikazuchi, let's back him up." Kanji said as his persona appeared. "We'll follow your lead."

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"It would appear that the fog somehow separated us from our new companions, perhaps it would be best if we took a moment to decide on a method of staying in contact with everyone." Tobi said calmly. "You're from the Yamanaka clan correct?"

"Yeah, and I think I know what you mean." Ino said closing her eyes. _"Can anybody hear me, it's Ino."_

"How cute, you think you can save yourselves by talking to each other?" asked a figure in shadows. "You won't be surviving for much longer."

"That voice, it's not possible." Tobi said genuinely nervously. "Nagato, this complicates things quite a bit."

"Nagato, who's that?" Ino asked while taking out a kunai.

"You would know him by a different name, he was the leader of the akatsuki, Pain." Tobi said.

No way, the same Pain that destroyed the village with one attack, Ino thought nervously. "There's no way we'll be able to take this guy down."

"Not necessarily, I'll admit it may be difficult but I know a few weaknesses of his rinnegan eyes." Tobi said calmly.

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"Tomoe, Power Charge." the fake Chie said confidently.

"Konohana Sakuya, Mind Charge." the fake Yukiko said. "After you Chie."

"Let's take these two down." the fake Chie said.

"Not so fast, take this." Labrys said launching her fist into Tomoe slamming it into the edge of the ring. "Naruto, you mind if I try something else?"

"Go ahead, I have something of my own in mind." Naruto said. "Kurama, let's take them down right now."

"You read my mind Naruto." Kurama said as he slowly faded away and an orange glow appeared around Naruto.

"What the, what kind of trick is that?" the fake Yukiko asked. "It doesn't matter though."

"Exactly, it doesn't matter what you try it won't be enough to save you." the fake Chie said.

Suddenly glowing red threads appeared around Naruto.

"What's going on?" the fake Yukiko asked.

"Naruto, you think I can give you a hand with that technique this time?" Labrys asked with a grin.

"No problem, let's go for it Labrys." Naruto said with a grin.

"No you don't." the fake Chie said. "Now Yukiko."

"Right Chie." the fake Yukiko said.

"Twin Dragons." the fake Chie and fake Yukiko said simultaneously.

"Weaver's Art: Tailed Beast Bomb." Naruto and Labrys said together before an orb wrapped in the thread shot towards the fake Chie and Yukiko before destroying them both as golden lights flew away towards Tarturus.

"That was a great idea Labrys." Naruto said with a smile.

"Thanks." Labrys said shyly. "Oh yeah, we should try and get to Tarturus and Mitsuru-san and the others."

"That's right, come on let's get going." Naruto said.

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"Oh my, it would appear that events are even more complex than I originally thought." Elizabeth said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be in my best interests to see who is waiting at the top of Tarturus this time."

"I had a feeling I would be meeting you here." said a voice from behind Elizabeth. "I take it you're still looking into that story you told me?"

"Oh my, I must admit I didn't expect you to be here sister." Elizabeth said calmly. "Still you feel it as well, the sense of dread hovering over this entire town?"

"I do, there are several people trying to find the one responsible and put a stop to it." Margaret said calmly. "We can only wait and see how this progresses."

"Speak for yourself sister, I intend to get to the bottom of this myself." Elizabeth said. "If I am to find the true nature of the wildcard this is as good a place as any to start."

"You've always been like this Elizabeth, still I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do." Margaret said calmly. "All I want is for you to be careful, and take care of yourself."

"Of course, I fully intend to sister." Elizabeth said. "Now then, I shall be on my way, it was exhilarating seeing you here."

"I agree, and who knows we may meet again before the night is over." Margaret said as Elizabeth walked off into the fog.

(The Shadow Operatives, Investigation Team, and Shinobi have all learned of where they need to go in order to stop Sho, but he isn't making it easy for them. Next chapter Kurama will perform an interesting jutsu. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	10. Sho makes his move

"Naruto, I'm beginning to think you aren't going to admit that you like her.' Kurama said. 'Don't try and ignore me, I've been around a lot longer than you and know all the signs.'

Wait, what are you talking about Kurama, Naruto thought nervously.

'I had a feeling you'd say that.' Kurama said calmly. 'Ninja Art: Eternity Mirror.'

The moment Kurama said that, a flash of light enveloped Naruto and Labrys.

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"_What the, where are we?" Labrys asked in surprise._

"_I don't know, Kurama what did you do?" Naruto asked before a ghostly image of the fox appeared in front of them._

"_You two are really starting to get on my nerves, it doesn't take a genius to see that the two of you are falling for each other." Kurama said. "If you aren't going to admit it then I'll just show the two of you how you both feel, starting with Naruto."_

"_What are you talking about?" Labrys asked. "What are you trying to show us?"_

"_Simple, I'm going to show the two of you what's inside your hearts." Kurama said. "Literally a heart or not, you both have one."_

"_He's right, your Plume of Dusk thing is as much a heart as mine or anyone else's." Naruto said with a smile._

_The moment he said that, a faint glow began to surround the three of them before they appeared inside a sewer system with a cave._

"_What is this place?" Labrys asked nervously._

"_You recognize it don't you Naruto?" Kurama asked. "This is somewhere you've been several times before."_

"_I know, but why are we here?" Naruto asked. "What does this place have to do with my heart?"_

"_This is your mindscape Naruto, the reason it looks like this is because your heart is connected to the seal." Kurama said calmly. "Now why don't you two just watch and see what happens."_

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"Water Style: Super Water Shark Bomb Jutsu." Kisame said with a smirk.

"Not so fast, Take-Mikazuchi, Matarukaja." Kanji said. "I'm right behind you."

"In that case, it's time to finish him off once and for all." the raikage said confidently as an electrical aura surrounded him.

"Ziodyne." Kanji said quickly as a bolt of lighting struck the giant water shark, vaporizing it completely.

"My turn." the raikage said before throwing Kisame into the air and jumping up to him. "Liger Bomb."

With those words the raikage slammed Kisame into the ground while creating an electrified explosion.

"Now that's my kind of technique." Kanji said calmly. "Mind if I ask how it's done?"

"That's one of the hidden cloud village's special techniques." the raikage said. "You wouldn't be able to perform it at all."

"That's great, still I've got my persona so that's good enough." Kanji said. "Anyway, we should keep heading towards that tower."

"I agree, the sooner we take down this Sho Minazuki the better for everyone." the raikage said calmly.

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"_What the, isn't that the TV world?" Naruto asked. "What are we doing here?"_

"_This was when you first met Labrys, so we're taking a look at what you thought during that adventure." Kurama said calmly._

"_Wait, shouldn't Naruto get to tell me this if he wants to?" Labrys asked. "I mean it should be his choice."_

"_In most cases I'd agree with you, but neither of you are willing to acknowledge the reality of the situation and to be honest watching you dance around it is starting to drive me crazy." Kurama said calmly._

'_Wow, who's that?' asked the past Naruto. 'She's beautiful, but something feels off about her.'_

"_Off, what did you mean off?" Labrys asked in shock._

'_She reminds me of me, she looks happy but there's something else.' the past Naruto said thoughtfully. 'Iruka-sensei was there for me, so I should help her the same way.'_

"_Now do you get it, Naruto knew from the start that something was different about you and decided to help you no matter what." Kurama said calmly. "You know the rest, he helped you out and was the first one to accept your true nature."_

"_Yeah, you have a point." Labrys said. "Wait, but what about me? You said this place was going to show us what we both thought, and all you've done is show that Naruto wanted to help me from the moment we met."_

"_Well of course I'd want to help her, who wouldn't want to help someone?" Naruto asked. "Especially such a kind-hearted girl like Labrys?"_

"_I had a feeling you would say that Naruto, now then for the second half of my jutsu." Kurama said as a second flash of light enveloped the three of them._

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"Hey, have you noticed something strange about the one responsible for the fog?" Marie asked.

"What do you mean Marie?" Yu asked curiously.

"It was his heart, there's something strange about it." Marie said. "If I didn't know any better I would say there were two of him."

"Two of him, what do you mean? Is someone else working with him?" Yu asked.

"I don't know, but something felt strange about him." Marie said thoughtfully. "Just make sure you're careful alright?"

"Yeah, you too." Yu said. "After all, it took one year to solve the last case. I don't want anything to happen to you this time."

"I know, and it won't." Marie said. "Still, thanks for worrying about me. Now let's make sure we protect our home."

"Well, this is certainly a touching moment." said a voice. "Of course it's going to make ruining it all the more entertaining."

"Who's there?" Yu asked before a fake Aigis emerged from the red fog.

"So you two want to get rid of the fog?" the fake Aigis asked. "What a joke, you two are going to be dying here and now."

With those words the fake Aigis summoned her persona and aimed her guns at Yu and Marie.

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"_Wait, what is this place?" Labrys asked nervously. "There's nothing here."_

"_That's not true, the difference between Naruto and you is that your heart isn't connected to your mindscape, at least not yet." Kurama said._

"_Alright, but what are we supposed to see Kurama?" Naruto asked._

"_You should know exactly what we're going to see Naruto." Kurama said as the three of them appeared back in the TV world's Yasogami high school._

'_What the heck is going on around here, first all the students disappear and then that video about this fighting tournament' said the past Labrys before something crashed from inside a nearby room. 'Great, those guys are already fighting in the school I'll have to take care of that myself.'_

_As she said that, the past Labrys opened the door and walked into the fight between the past Naruto and Kanji._

"_This was when we met Naruto, to be honest I'm glad I ran into you first, otherwise who knows what might have happened." Labrys said with a smile._

"_Well I'm glad we met too Labrys." Naruto said. "You're a lot different than most people I know, and that's a good thing."_

"_I think I've made my point, you two clearly like each other, so once we take care of the fog surrounding this town I think you two should finally let the others know that you're in love." Kurama said with a smirk._

_The moment Kurama said that Naruto and Labrys looked away nervously._

"_I guess he's right, I mean there was something about you from the moment I met you Labrys." Naruto said. "I couldn't really explain it but I felt like even beyond wanting to help you there was something connecting us. Maybe it has to do with our similar pasts, but after this we can move forward together."_

"_You're right, so how do we get back to Inaba?" Labrys asked._

"_Simple." Kurama said calmly. "Eternity Mirror Release."_

_With those words a flash of light enveloped the three of them yet again._

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"Oh man, it looks like these guys are playing right into your hands." Adachi said lazily. "Still, it's disappointing that they don't know anything about the real purpose of these fights."

"Big deal, like it matters what they know, the world's going to disappear soon anyway." Sho said. "Although, there are a few of them I want to take care of personally."

"Oh, mind sharing who the unlucky victims are going to be?" Adachi asked.

"That defective robot that messed things up last time, the blonde kid who's helping it, and the leader of that play group who keeps yapping about bonds." Sho said coldly.

"Those three, you might want to be careful." Adachi said. "That kid is a pain, and he doesn't stay down. I speak from experience."

"We'll see about that." Sho said walking back into Tarturus.

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"Summoning Jutsu." Nagato said as an enormous two-headed dog appeared.

"Are you sure about this?" Ino asked hesitantly.

"Yes, but it requires very precise timing." Tobi said. "We'll only have one opportunity for this to work and if it fails it's highly likely that both of us will die."

"No pressure." Ino said. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

The moment she said that, Tobi launched a fireball towards the dog causing it to vanish before throwing a poison smoke bomb towards Nagato.

"That won't work, Almighty Push." Nagato said as a magnetic pulse shot the poison smoke bomb back towards Tobi and Ino.

Now, Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu, Ino thought.

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"Oh man, why did this have to happen to us?" Yosuke asked as another block of ice flew past his head. "Can't you talk to her or something?"

"No way, that's not the real Mitsuru-sempai and even if it was I'm not getting in her way." Junpei said.

"Great, alright in that case there's only one chance left." Yosuke said. "Jiraiya, Sukakaja."

"What are you planning, running away again?" the fake Mitsuru asked coldly. "Artemisia, Bufudyne."

"Not this time." Yosuke said before running at incredible speeds towards the fake Mitsuru and slashing her persona with his kunai.

"Nice, alright my turn." Junpei said. "Trismegistus, Agidyne."

The moment he said that, a massive flame enveloped the fake Mitsuru and Artemisia, destroying them both as more golden lights flew off towards Tarturus.

"Nice, let's keep going." Yosuke said confidently.

"Right behind you." Junpei said calmly.

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"Naruto, you know Kurama is a real pain right?" Labrys asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I think I can let it slide this time." Naruto said.

'Very funny, the two of you can thank me later.' Kurama said.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto said. "Thanks again Kurama."

"Yeah, that's one fox I'm glad to have met." Labrys said with a smile just before two bloodstained blades pierced through Naruto's chest.

"Oh my bad, did I interrupt something?" Sho asked with a smirk.

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"Izanagi, Ziodyne." Yu said as his persona fired another bolt of lighting at the fake Aigis only to miss again.

"Are you even trying anymore?" asked the fake Aigis. "This is a waste of my time."

"There's more than one way to win a fight." Yu said as a drop of rain hit his head.

"What in the world?" the fake Aigis asked. "It was clear just a moment ago."

"That's what happens when you pick a fight with a goddess." Yu said calmly. "I'm right behind you Marie."

"I am Izanami-No-Mikoto, and I will do whatever I have to in order to protect the town that I call my home." Marie said before a massive bolt of lightning struck the fake Aigis.

"That might have been overdoing it a little." Yu said. "Still thanks Marie."

"It's a bit early for thanks you two." the fake Aigis said coldly. "Activating Orgia Mode."

"Great, that's the last thing we need right now." Yu said nervously.

"Now might be a good time to bring out him." Marie said.

"You have a point." Yu said as a blue glow transformed Izanagi into Izanagi-No-Okami.

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"Did it work?" Tobi asked hesitantly. "Were you able to perform the jutsu?"

"Yeah, I managed it." Ino said in Nagato's body. "So now what, I just hope that I can release the jutsu before you kill me?"

"The rinnegan is far more powerful than my own sharingan, without the advantage you can provide by willingly taking my attack we stand minimal chance against him." Tobi said drawing a kunai. "This kunai is coated in an incredibly potent toxin, one touch will kill anyone I trust you know what that means if you're slow to react."

"Yeah, I know." Ino said. "Still, if it's our only option then go ahead."

The moment Ino said that, Tobi threw the kunai towards her at full speed.

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"Irony has quite the funny way of working wouldn't you agree Sakura?" Kabuto asked calmly.

"Yeah, somehow I got stuck with you." Sakura said. "Still, for now we don't have any choice but to work together."

"That's true, though the fact that all four of us managed to stay together gives us an advantage over our enemies." Naoto said calmly.

"Yeah, but even with all four of us being together there's no telling who we'll run into around here." Yukari said.

"I can answer that." said a figure from inside the red fog.

"That voice, there's no way." Sakura said as a masked boy stepped out of the fog.

"It's not the same Haku you remember, everyone that's helping Sho Minazuki is fake." Kabuto said calmly. "Even so we shouldn't underestimate him."

"In that case we should strike before he can make a move, come Sukuna Hikona." Naoto said calmly. "Mind Charge."

With those words a blue aura appeared around Naoto.

"Hold on, what are you planning on doing?" Yukari asked nervously.

"Stand back." Naoto said calmly. "Megidolaon."

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"No way, Naruto." Labrys said in shock. "This can't be real."

"Oh it's very real, the kid's taking a permanent fox nap." Sho said before breaking out into laughter.

"That's it you punk, I'm going to enjoy taking you down slowly and painfully." Labrys said just as her eyes flashed to yellow.

"What the, what's going on with this piece of junk?" Sho asked nervously.

"You shouldn't mess with me, and now you're going to see why." Shadow Labrys said angrily. "Come persona, Asterius."

With those words the half bull creature from the original P1 Grand Prix appeared behind Shadow Labrys and roared to the sky.

(Sho has stabbed Naruto, Shadow Labrys has reappeared, and nobody has managed to reach Tarturus yet. Next chapter Shadow Labrys will engage Sho in combat. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	11. Wrath of a shadow

"What the, how the heck did you get a second persona?" Sho asked angrily. "Well whatever it won't help you anyway."

"Keep talking brat, now call out your persona so we can get this fight started already." Shadow Labrys said.

"I don't need a persona to beat you." Sho said drawing his swords and barely blocked before Shadow Labrys swung her axe towards his head. "Damn you're stronger than I thought, but I'm not going to let you do what you want."

The moment he said that, Sho swung one of his swords towards Shadow Labrys' neck only for a rocket-propelled fist to hit him in the gut.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of, it's about time for you to die." Shadow Labrys said angrily as Asterius began pulling back a massive punch.

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"What in the world was that?" the Raikage asked.

"Who knows, it sounded like someone or something growing." Kanji said.

"_Kanji, that was Labrys." Rise said. "Her shadow came back somehow, Naruto could be in danger."_

"No way, alright where are they Rise?" Kanji asked quickly.

"_They're at the shrine, Ken-kun, Koromaru, and I are heading there now but we might need your help." Rise said._

"Right, I'm on my way." Kanji said. "The shrine, come on we need to save Naruto."

"In that case lead the way." the raikage said quickly as the two of them ran towards the shrine.

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This has to be absolutely perfect timing, Tobi thought nervously as the kunai flew towards Ino.

"Mind Transfer…" Ino started to say as the kunai flew towards her. "… Release."

The moment she said that, the kunai stabbed into Nagato's chest, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"That was too close, I nearly died." Ino said.

"True, though your talent with the mind transfer jutsu ensured our success." Tobi said as the golden lights flew towards Tarturus. "Now then, that creature that roared before is likely an enemy of ours so we should go and deal with it before things get out of hand."

"I guess you're right, let's go." Ino said quietly.

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"Come on, don't tell me you're upset that I killed that blonde kid." Sho said blocking another relentless swing of Shadow Labrys' axe. "It's not like a machine can even have emotions in the first place."

That feeling, to think this kid would have one as well, Shadow Labrys thought suddenly as a familiar sensation shot through her chest. "Before I kill you answer this, why does a punk like you have a plume of dusk?"

"That's none of your business." Sho said before narrowing his eyes.

"No way, Labrys' shadow is fighting Sho Minazuki, is she on our side?" Rise asked as she ran up to the fight with Ken and Koromaru.

"What do you know, long time no see." Shadow Labrys said. "You're just in time to see this brat get a few inches of the top."

The moment she said that, Shadow Labrys swung her axe towards Sho's neck only for him to block it with one of his swords.

"That's enough, it's about time someone shuts down this obsolete robot." Minazuki said. "Come persona, Tsukuyomi."

"Where did all that confidence go?" Shadow Labrys asked. "I thought you didn't need a persona to beat me."

"Things have changed since your battle with him began." Minazuki said calmly shifting his grip on his katana blades.

"You, Kujikawa right?" Shadow Labrys asked suddenly. "While I take care of this brat I need you to do something."

"Why should we do anything a shadow asks?" Ken asked angrily.

"No, what do you want?" Rise asked.

"Dig a proper grave, for Naruto-kun's funeral once this is all over." Shadow Labrys said sadly before a red aura began to surround her. "As for me, I'm killing this punk right now."

"No way, Naruto can't be dead." Rise said in disbelief.

"It's true, I saw him stab Naruto in the chest." Shadow Labrys said as a single tear fell from her eyes. "He's going to die right here and right now."

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"Izanagi-No-Okami, Maziodyne." Yu said quickly only for the fake Aigis to dodge all of the lightning bolts.

"Is that all you're capable of?" the fake Aigis asked firing her finger guns at Yu.

"You fell for it." Yu said calmly.

Suddenly a bolt of lighting struck the fake Aigis from behind destroying her as more golden lights flew towards Tarturus.

"Next time you want to be life bait, tell me first." Marie said in annoyance.

"Right, sorry about that." Yu said. "Still, we should keep moving. Sho Minazuki is waiting in that tower."

"Right, let's get going." Marie said calmly.

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"_No, please just stop." Labrys asked desperately._

"_What are you talking about, thanks to this freak Naruto-kun is dead." Shadow Labrys said angrily._

"_I know, but if Naruto-kun were here he wouldn't kill him." Labrys said. "You can beat him but, no I mean I can beat him but need to leave him alive."_

"_You really think that after everything he did anyone would let him live?" Shadow Labrys asked._

"_You're right, most people wouldn't forgive him." Labrys said. "Still, we both know that Naruto wouldn't kill him if there was a chance for him to change for the better."_

"_Yeah, I guess you've got a point." Shadow Labrys said. "Fine, I'll spare him. Though I'm going to make him pay for what he did."_

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"That was quite the impressive technique." Kabuto said calmly. "How exactly does it work?"

"That's the most powerful ability that a persona can have." Naoto said. "It's a highly concentrated blast of almighty energy."

"Almighty energy, that sounds rather simplistic though that could still be effective enough." Kabuto said. "Still, I don't think it was quite enough to take down Haku."

"He's right, Haku is really strong." Sakura said just before jumping out of the way of a group of senbon needles.

"That's great, does this guy have any kind of weakness?" Yukari asked nervously.

"Yes, and I have something in mind for this." Kabuto said calmly.

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"So this is Tarturus, honestly it's simpler than I thought it would be." Yu said.

"No, there's something off about this place." Marie said. "Look, over there."

"Mitsuru-san, come on we need to get her off of that thing." Yu said quickly.

"You won't be doing anything like that." said a voice from the shadows before a ball of fire struck the ground where they were standing.

"Who's up there?" Marie asked. "Wait, it's that Sasuke kid."

"No wait, it's a fake Sasuke." Yu said suddenly. "He must be guarding Mitsuru-sempai."

"So you figured me out, impressive." the fake Sasuke said activating his Sharingan. "Still it won't help you beat me."

"We'll have to see, Izanagi." Yu said as his persona appeared.

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"Well, didn't you say you were going to kill me?" Minazuki asked calmly. "So what's the delay, I'm waiting to prove you wrong."

"Keep talking." Shadow Labrys said angrily before extending her axe into the air with her rocket-propelled fist. "Time for you to learn your lesson punk."

Suddenly Tsukuyomi appeared in front of Shadow Labrys and swung his sword across her chest, knocking her off balance before Sho delivered a kick to her side knocking her to the ground.

"This is bad, we need to help her." Rise said quickly.

"No, just make sure you guys get Naruto-kun a respectable grave." Shadow Labrys said angrily. "This is my fight."

Suddenly Shadow Labrys' arm descended towards Minazuki at high speeds crashing down on top of his twin katanas and causing him to fall to his knees.

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"_Naruto, are you going to let this worthless fool kill you now? That's not the kind of person you've proven yourself to be. Was I wrong about you the whole time?" Kurama asked angrily. "Labrys' emotions are running wild again, and you're the only one who can help her now. If you insist on lying around like a lump I'll deal with him myself."_

_As he said that, a faint orange glow began to surround Naruto's body as his wounds slowly began to fade._

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"So what's your plan to beat him?" Naoto asked.

"Simple, fight fire with fire, or in this case ice with ice." Kabuto said calmly. "Ninja Art Forbidden Jutsu: Reanimation."

The moment Kabuto said that a single coffin rose out of the ground before opening to reveal a second Haku.

"No way, you can use that jutsu?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Of course, and for now we're on the same side so we should take advantage of whatever we can." Kabuto said.

"Agreed, and if they're normally equal in strength then we have an advantage." Naoto said. "Sukuna Hikona, Heat Riser."

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"There they are, Rise what's going on?" Kanji asked running up to her.

"Kanji, Labrys' shadow is loose again, and Naruto is dead." Rise said nervously. "This is really bad."

"What do you mean he's dead?" Kanji asked.

"You can get in contact with the others right?" the raikage asked Rise.

"Yes I can, what are you thinking?" Rise asked while summoning her persona.

"I have a feeling Tsunade is with one of your friends, if she is that means you can lead her here. If anyone has the medical knowledge to help Naruto Uzumaki its her." the raikage said.

"That won't work, I saw the blades go through his chest." Shadow Labrus said angrily. "There's nothing anyone can do now."

"You're right, in more ways than you know." Minazuki said calmly. "It looks like we have quite the audience, so I feel it's only fair that I allow more of you to join us."

With those words Minazuki took a remote out of his pocket.

"No, don't tell me that's what I think it is." Shadow Labrys said angrily.

"I see you recognize this remote control, well Labrys why don't we put it to the test?" Minazuki asked activating the remote.

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"Not bad, but you don't have a chance of taking me down." the fake Sasuke said calmly before dodging another lighting bolt from Izanagi. "Though I'll admit I didn't expect to need to use those eyes for this fight."

With those words the fake Sasuke's eyes changed design and he threw another shuriken towards Yu.

"That's quite enough out of you, Artemisia Bufudyne." said a voice before a block of ice enveloped the fake Sasuke. "I appreciate the assistance Narukami, I assume the others are here as well?"

"Yeah, we were just the first ones to get here." Yu said. "Are you sure you're alright Mitsuru-san?"

"I'll be fine, the important thing is putting a stop to whatever is going on around here." Mitsuru said.

"Nice try, but I guess the three of you will all have to die now." the fake Sasuke said. "Let's see how you get past my Susanoo."

As he said that, a massive purple demonic creature appeared around the fake Sasuke with a sword made of black fire in one hand and a crossbow in another.

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"What's going on, I thought she was on our side." the raikage said catching another punch from Shadow Labrys.

"It's that remote, she's being controlled." Rise said.

"In that case all we need to do is destroy that remote once and for all." Kanji said. "Take-Mikazuchi, let's take him down."

"I wouldn't recommend it, this is just a robot so I would suggest you take measures to destroy it before it destroys you." Minazuki said calmly.

"No way, Labrys is our friend and there's no way we would hurt her." Rise said. "There has to be another way, all we need to do is destroy the remote and she'll be back to normal."

"That might work, alright I'll handle this one and you all get the remote away from him." the raikage said.

"Right, come on Rise." Kanji said quickly.

"We're right behind you, let's go Koromaru." Ken said confidently.

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"Oh my, do I detect a lovely lady nearby?" asked a figure in the red fog.

"That voice, you would be the General Teddie from the P1 Grand Prix?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"I'm honored that you know who I am, of course since you do you must also know that the charade is over." General Teddie said walking out of the fog. "You're a persona user correct?"

"I have the ability to summon a persona, I assume you're requesting a match with me." Elizabeth said calmly. "In that case I'll happily comply."

"In that case let's begin right now." General Teddie said with a smirk.

"Very well, your fate is in the cards." Elizabeth said opening her compendium.

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"_What the, where am I?" Naruto asked weakly. "The last thing I remember is seeing Labrys and then everything vanished."_

"_Naruto Uzumaki, you are here because you at the crossroads of life and death." said a voice into his mind. "I am here to offer you two choices. One of accepting your death and joining your parents in the afterlife, and the other is to return to the world of the living and go back to the battles you were facing."_

"_Wait, those are my two options?" Naruto asked angrily. "Either abandon my friends and let them die or turn down seeing my parents and pervy sage?"_

"_Those are your options Naruto, whatever you decide I will oblige just know that this is a one time event. Should you fall in battle again you will have no opportunity to return." the voice said calmly._

"_Alright, in that case I know what I'm going to do." Naruto said. "There's only one thing to do."_

"_I see, well in that case your decision has been made." the voice said as a flash of light enveloped Naruto._

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"Oh man, this guy is strong." Kanji said as Minazuki's sword passed over his head again.

"You don't understand, this world will end soon enough, and then his desires will be achieved." Minazuki said calmly. "Now then, it's time to put an end to this fight."

With those words Tsukuyomi appeared above Minazuki and its sword began to glow.

"Look out." Rise said urgently as Tsukuyomi went to attack Ken only for the blade to be deflected by a large shuriken.

"What?" Minazuki asked in shock.

"I told you already, I'm going to do whatever I can to stop you, and I never go back on my word." Naruto said as an orange glow enveloped him.

(The battles are continuing, and Sho Minazuki is beginning to be pushed back. Next chapter Labrys will regain control of her body, and the second group will arrive at Tarturus. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	12. Endless Persona Fragments

"What, I was certain my blades struck your vital organs." Minazuki said in shock.

"Trust me, it's going to take a lot more than that to kill me." Naruto said before turning to Shadow Labrys. "Labrys,don't let this guy control you. We both know that you're not some machine that can be controlled, so prove it to everyone else too."

The moment Naruto said that, Shadow Labrys' eyes started to glow.

"Wonderful, is she finally back on our side?" the raikage asked irritably.

"Naruto-kun, alright let's take this guy down once and for all." Labrys said as her eyes turned red again. "Come Ariadne."

"Impressive, there might be more to you than I thought." Minazuki said calmly. "Of course this is far from a suitable location for our battle to conclude."

With those words Minazuki walked back into the red fog before disappearing entirely.

"Great, we had him in our hands and you let him get away." the raikage said angrily.

"It's fine, we know where he went." Naruto said.

"That's right, he must be at the top of Tarturus." Ken said. "We should keep moving."

"He's right, let's go." Labrys said confidently.

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"Inferno Style: Flame Control." the fake Sasuke said as another wave of black flames flew towards Yu and Marie.

"Kaguya-Hime, Makarakarn." Marie said just before the flames hit them.

The moment she said that, a blue barrier appeared and reflected the flames back towards the fake Sasuke. (1)

"Alright, in that let's see if this works." Yu said. "Izanagi Ziodyne."

As he said that, Yu ran under the lightning and had it strike his sword.

"So that's what you have in mind, well in that case." the fake Sasuke said calmly before channeling lightning chakra into his sword. "Let's see just how skilled you are."

"I was thinking the same thing." Yu said calmly.

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"Incredible, you're quite strong." General Teddie said weakly. "Of course that's not going to help you defeat me."

"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

"There's more than one way to win a fight." General Teddie said. "This fight's given me quite a few persona fragments."

"I see, so you're collecting fragments of the persona that engage in battle." Elizabeth said calmly. "That's quite the interesting strategy."

"I'm glad you approve, because you've helped me quite a bit in this battle." General Teddie said calmly. "Of course all good things must come to an end."

As he said that General Teddie disappeared in the red fog.

"Well that was interesting, I wonder what he has planned for the others." Elizabeth said before walking off into the fog herself.

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"This is bad, this guy is even stronger than we thought." Marie said nervously as Yu and the fake Sasuke collided again with their electrified swords.

"Not bad, but I'm just getting started." the fake Sasuke said before creating a second blade of pure lighting in his other hand.

"Konohana Sakuya, Agidyne." a voice said suddenly as a flame suddenly enveloped the fake Sasuke.

"Are you guys alright?" Chie asked running up to Yu and Marie.

"We're better now, but this guy's strong." Yu said nervously.

"Well that should have done some damage." Yukiko said before the smoke cleared revealing the fake Sasuke's Susanoo had reappeared.

"This is bad, that thing is nearly impossible to defeat." Marie said just before the black flames appeared near them again.

Wait a second that just might work, Yu thought. "I have an idea." he said before switching to Izanagi-No-Okami.

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"Yosuke, are you sure this is the right way?" Teddie asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm sure Ted." Yosuke said. "The sooner we get to the school the better."

"He's right, plus there's no telling what might be waiting for us." Tenten said.

"Huh, oh you guys again." Adachi asked. "Is there another mystery for you guys to solve?"

"Adachi, why am I not surprised you have something to do with this." Yosuke said angrily. "This time there's no getting away."

"What are you talking about?" Adachi asked. "Oh you mean the red fog, well I certainly don't see you stopping it around here."

"That's it, come Jiraiya." Yosuke said.

"I'm right behind you Yosuke, Bearsona." Teddie said as Kintoki-Douji appeared above him.

"Oh man, you guys really don't want to do this." Adachi said in annoyance. "Well I guess you don't want to give me a choice."

"Be careful, he might look plain but he's a lot tougher than he looks." Yosuke said quickly.

"Don't worry, I can take care of him no problem." Tenten said with a grin.

"You brats just don't get it do you, well I guess I need to teach you another lesson." Adachi said. "Come out, Magatsu Izanagi."

With those words Adachi's persona appeared above him.

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"Do you see anything from up their Ken?" Labrys asked.

"Yeah, there's definitely something on top of Tarturus." Ken said as Labrys lowered him back to the ground.

"Alright, well if Naruto is right it must be one of those shadow operative people on top of that tower." the raikage said. "So what are we doing waiting around here for?"

"We still need to make sure Naruto and Labrys are back to full strength, Sho wasn't easy to beat and if we go in recklessly we'll end up walking into our deaths." Yukari said. "We should wait and go once we're sure they're ok."

"She's right, plus while we're waiting we can come up with a strategy." Ken said. "Did you guys notice that he started acting differently once he summoned his persona?"

"You're right, and I think I know why." Labrys said. "He's like me."

"Like you, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"Wait a second, do you mean he has a plume of dusk?" Yukari asked. "Isn't he a human?"

"I know, but a plume of dusk let's anti-shadow suppression weapons like me and Aigis have a personality, so if he has one that might create a second personality in him." Labrys said. "That would make one of them his true personality and the other one is the plume of dusk."

"Wait a second, if that's true all we need to do is get rid of that plume of dusk thing and we'll have an advantage." the raikage said calmly.

"No, we can't kill him." Ken said urgently. "I mean he's been terrible but killing him would make us no better than he is."

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"You're joking right?" Marie asked. "You could die."

"It's our best chance of taking him down." Yu said. "Plus worst case scenario I'll go down with him and Yukiko can use Samarecarm."

"Right, it's our best option." Yukiko said. "In that case, go ahead Yu."

"Izanagi-No-Okami, Megidolaon." Yu said quickly.

The moment Yu said that, a massive purple explosion struck the Susanoo creating a small hole in its chest that Yu jumped inside of. (2)

"What the, what are you doing?" the fake Sasuke asked nervously.

"Just wait, Izanagi-No-Okami Megidolaon." Yu said as the purple explosion appeared inside the Susanoo destroying the fake Sasuke and knocking Yu unconscious.

"I told him that was a bad idea." Chie said. "Yukiko, can you heal him?"

"Right, Konohana Sakuya Samarecarm." Yukiko said quickly.

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"This is crazy, how strong is this guy?' Tenten asked nervously.

"He's strong, but we can't quit." Yosuke said. "Jiraiya, Garudyne."

"Didn't you listen to me the last three times?" Adachi asked. "Oh well, Magatsu Izanagi Maziodyne."

The moment Adachi said that several bolts of lighting struck the area destroying Jiraiya's tornado and causing him to vanish along with Kintoki-Douji.

"Oh man, this is bad." Yosuke said. "Do you anything up your sleeve?"

"Just wait already, I mean I didn't even want to fight you guys right now." Adachi said in annoyance. "Look don't you have more important things to?"

"Yeah, taking care of you and your partner." Tenten said before throwing a scroll above Adachi. "Weapon Control: Tensasai."

As Tenten said that several weapons shot out from the scroll heading towards Adachi and Magatsu Izanagi.

"Vorpal Blade." Adachi said quickly just before his persona started blocking all of the weapons with its blade. "Now if you're quite done, I need to get going."

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"Oh, so you're still awake." Sho said arrogantly. "You'll be glad to know that your allies are close to reaching the tower."

"Allies, you mean Yukari and the others don't you?" Mitsuru asked. "Why am I not surprised that they would get involved with this situation."

"You should thank me, I let them know where to find you all." Sho said with a smirk. "Not that it makes any difference, pretty soon this damn world is going to end once and for all."

"The world ending, what are you talking about?" Mitsuru asked nervously.

"You just wait, you'll see soon enough." Sho said with a smirk before disappearing in the red fog.

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"Are you two alright?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, thanks Yukari." Naruto said. "Now then, I just need to take care of one more thing."

The moment he said that Naruto formed a hand seal.

"What are you planning Naruto?" the raikage asked calmly.

"Right before he left I managed to put a paper bomb on that remote of his." Naruto said with a grin. "That should take care of that."

"You mean you destroyed the remote he was using to control me?" Labrys asked in shock.

"That's what he just said, I doubt that remote can do anything once its been blown to pieces." the raikage said. "You're even faster than I thought."

Suddenly Labrys grabbed Naruto in a hug.

"Well I suppose to each their own." Yukari said calmly. "Alright you two lovebirds, shouldn't we go and make sure the others are ok?"

"You're right, let's keep moving." Labrys said with a smile before Ariadne appeared above her. "What the, what's going on?"

As Labrys asked that, Ariadne began to glow before she disappeared again. (3)

"Labrys, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

"She's fine, in fact I'd bet she's better than ever." Ken said as Koromaru barked in agreement.

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"Come on Mitsuru-san, we've got you." Yu said as they helped her to her feet.

"You should learn to pay more attention to your surroundings." Mitsuru said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"What the, where'd she go?" Chie asked nervously.

"It must have been a trap." Yukiko said. "Who's there?"

"Good guess, let's see if your strength matches your talents of observation." said a voice before a kunai struck the ground just in front of Chie.

"No way, that voice." Chie said in shock. "Naruto?"

"Close, but not quite." the fake Naruto said dropping from the ceiling. "Now then, Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Great, now we have to deal with more of him." Marie said.

"Actually, I do have an idea." Yu said. "Do you two think you can try that?"

"I like the way you think Yu." Chie said with a grin. "Let's take him down Yukiko."

"I'm right behind you Chie." Yukiko said with a smile.

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"Hey, I wanted to ask you something." Ino said suddenly.

"You wanted to ask me something?" Tobi asked. "Alright, what do you want to ask?"

"Why are you trying to capture Naruto?" Ino asked. "I mean your trying to do something with the nine-tails, but what and why?"

"You wouldn't understand my motives, just know that once this minor inconvenience is over I fully intend to obtain the remaining two jinchuuriki and complete my plans." Tobi said. "Of course until then our only option is to cooperate."

"You know that there's no way you'll be able to stop Naruto." Ino said. "That guy doesn't give up on anything."

"I'm aware, but you should know that everyone has a weakness." Tobi said calmly. "It's simply a matter of finding it."

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"Hinata, can you see that?" Neji asked nervously.

"Yes, but why would he be heading towards us?" Hinata asked fearfully.

"Wait, what's going on?" Junpei asked. "Is there something we need to worry about?"

"Possibly, if he has the same skills as the original we're in for quite the fight." Neji said. "Hinata, do you think there's time to set a trap similar to the one Shikamaru told us about?"

"No, he's too close." Hinata said. "All we can do is hope that we can avoid being hit."

"Hold on, what are you guys talking about?" Junpei asked nervously.

"A former enemy of ours named Hidan." Neji said. "Our friend Shikamaru fought him once before and his abilities are extremely dangerous."

"If he manages to scratch you he can ingest your blood to link any damage he takes to you, and he's immortal." Hinata said nervously. "He can kill you by stabbing himself."

The moment she said that, a fake Hidan emerged from the red fog with a sinister smirk on his face.

"No way, is this that immortal guy?" Junpei asked nervously. "He looks even creepier than you made him sound.

"Alright smart guy, you'll be my first sacrifice to lord Jashin." the fake Hidan said coldly as he took his scythe off of his back.

(The battle with Sho Minazuki is continuing, and everyone is attempting to reach Tarturus. Next chapter Sho will reveal more of his plans. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (Inferno Style can be reflected by Makarakarn since it's treated identically to a severe agi attack, the difference being it takes less energy for Sasuke or the fake Sasuke to use Inferno Style than it does for a persona user to use an agi attack of corresponding power.)

(2) (The Megidolaon isn't strong enough to destroy the Susanoo, but it managed to deal enough damage to its chest to create a temporary hole. If the raikage could crack a Susanoo with his bare hands, an explosion of almighty energy should be capable of momentarily breaking through.)

(3) (Ariadne did not transform into a new persona, instead since Labrys' heart is strengthening and her bond with Naruto is increasing, her persona is increasing in strength as well.)


	13. The tide shifts

"Oodama Rasengan." the fake Naruto said running towards Marie.

"Look out." Chie said before kicking Naruto and throwing him off balance. "Yukiko, now."

"Right, Agidyne." Yukiko said quickly as the fake Naruto was enveloped in flames.

"Not bad, but you don't have any chance of beating me even you guys do heal." the fake Naruto said confidently while jumping out of the flames.

"Are you sure Naruto?" Yu asked. "Izanagi-No-Okami Mabufudyne."

"What the, when did you…" the fake Naruto started to say before being encased in a solid block of ice.

"Alright, let's take him down." Chie said confidently.

"Right, lead the charge Chie." Yu said calmly.

With those words the four persona users ran towards the ice and relentlessly attacked it before the fake Naruto vanished in golden light.

"Nice, we took him down." Yukiko said. "Is everyone ok?"

"Yeah, let's keep going." Yu said. "Mitsuru-san and the others are somewhere in this tower."

"He's right, just make sure to be careful." Marie said. "Who knows what face our enemies will take next."

"Well all we can do is keep moving, let's go." Chie said enthusiastically.

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"So mind if I ask you something?" Adachi said calmly. "I know that you want this whole world to end, but all of the fake persona users you've been creating are losing badly."

"They don't need to win, as long as they fight and gather more persona fragments I'll have everything I need." Minazuki said. "Do you see the crystal behind you?"

As Minazuki said that, Adachi noticed a green crystal with golden lights flying into it.

"Oh, is that where you're gathering the persona fragments?" Adachi asked. "So what happens when you've got all the ones you need?"

"Once I have enough these fragments will ensure the fulfillment of his wish, the complete destruction of the world." Minazuki said. "Just a bit more and everything will end."

"If you say so." Adachi said thoughtfully.

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"Oh man, this guy's really dangerous." Junpei said nervously. "Do you two have any ideas?"

"Don't you get it, there's no way you'll beat me, it's about time you face the fact that you're going to die." the fake Hidan said with a smirk.

"No, I'm not going to die." Junpei said angrily. "Persona, Agidyne."

"Hinata, now." Neji said suddenly.

"Right." Hinata said before the two Hyuga simultaneously struck the fake Hidan's central chakra point, freezing him in place.

"What the, what did you two brats do to me?" the fake Hidan asked angrily.

"We froze your chakra network and nervous system simultaneously. You might be able to speak but moving is impossible." Neji said calmly.

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"This is it, he's somewhere inside of this tower." Naruto said.

"In that case let's get going." the raikage said. "The sooner we take down this guy the sooner we can take care of the akatsuki."

As he said that, the group walked into Tarturus only to end up staring at the Valley of the End.

"What is this place?" Labrys asked. "Didn't we just go inside that tower?"

"This is, wait how are we here?" Naruto asked in shock. "This is where I caught up to Sasuke that day."

"Exactly, and this is the spot where you're going to die." said a voice before the ground turned into sand.

"Look out, Isis Magarudyne." Yukari said quickly.

"Using the wind to get over my sand, not bad." said a fake Gaara. "Of course that doesn't mean you'll be able to defeat me."

'Naruto, be careful I sense the powers of Shukaku in him.' Kurama said suddenly.

"I guess there's no point in hiding it now." the fake Gaara said while forming hand seals. "Ninja Art: Playing Possum Jutsu."

As he said that, the fake Gaara fell into a sleep as his gourd slowly enveloped his body.

"What is he?" Ken asked nervously. "A raccoon monster?"

"It looks like he is, but we've taken care of worse." Kanji said. "Take-Mikazuchi, Ziodyne."

The moment he said that, a bolt of lighting struck the Shukaku.

"Oh you did not want to do that you miserable human, it's time for you to die." the fake Shukaku said angrily before the sand slowly started to wrap around Kanji.

"We need to help him, Ariadne." Labrys said quickly as her persona appeared and Naruto entered his tailed beast mode.

"Oh, and what do you two think you're going to do to stop me?" the fake Shukaku said.

"Give us your best shot." Naruto said confidently.

"I hope he knows what he's doing." Yukari said nervously as the fake Shukaku began forming an orb of chakra in his mouth.

"This is bad, that's even stronger than what the fake Yukiko-chan and Chie-chan tried." Labrys said nervously.

"Don't worry Labrys, we can handle him." Naruto said forming an identical orb in front of his hands.

"You're right, let's take him down." Labrys said as Ariadne's thread began wrapping around Naruto's attack.

"This is really bad, I can't get this sand off of Kanji." Rise said nervously.

Suddenly the fake Shukaku launched the orb of chakra at Naruto and Labrys.

"Weaver's Art: Tailed Beast Bomb." Naruto and Labrys said simultaneously before launching their attack towards the fake Shukaku.

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"It's time to get up you worthless robot." said a voice as Aigis slowly regained consciousness.

"What happened, where am I?" Aigis asked. "Wait, this place."

"Recognize it, the Moonlight Bridge where your little adventure started." Sho said. "This was where the events that led to Tarturus' last appearance began. This time I'm going to make sure this miserable world is destroyed."

"Who are you? Why do you want to destroy this world?" Aigis asked weakly.

"My name is Sho Minazuki, and I'm finishing the work started by my old man." Sho said. "He failed but I have no intention of failing."

"Old man, wait what are you talking about?" Aigis asked. "No that is impossible, he did not have any children."

"Believe whatever you want, but before the night is through this entire pathetic world will be destroyed." Sho said walking away from Aigis.

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"We need to be careful, these may not be the real shinobi we're used to but they certainly are strong enough to provide a challenge." Kabuto said calmly.

"True, still your resurrection technique certainly came in handy. Although if what you said is true we should only use it as a last resort." Naoto said.

"Agreed, that jutsu is unnatural." Sakura said nervously. "Anyway let's keep moving towards that tower."

"That's the best plan, if I know the others we'll meet up with them there." Naoto said just before a bear ran into Kabuto. "Teddie?"

"Nao-chan, I thought I heard your beautiful voice." Teddie said excitedly.

"Darn it Ted, I told you not to run off." Yosuke said in annoyance. "Sorry about him, he gets like that."

"Don't worry, I've dealt with worse." Tenten said. "Compared to Lee and Guy-sensei he's pretty calm."

"It's good to see you Yosuke-sempai, the more of us that stay together the better our chances of stopping Sho Minazuki." Naoto said calmly.

"There's more to it than that Naoto, Adachi's involved." Yosuke said.

"Adachi-san, isn't he in prison for what happened last year?" Naoto asked in surprise.

"Wait, what happened last year?" Sakura asked.

"That's rather complicated, but the important aspect is that he was responsible for two murders last year." Naoto said quickly.

"We can get the details later, right now we need to keep moving." Tenten said. "Let's go."

"Right, after you." Kabuto said calmly.

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"This is bad, he's as strong as we are Naruto-kun." Labrys said nervously.

"I know, but we have one advantage." Naruto said as a shadow clone jumped out of the sand.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken." the shadow clone said throwing the jutsu towards the fake Shukaku, causing it to be hit by the combination attack.

"That's it, now I'm mad." the fake Shukaku said angrily before the sand around Kanji flew towards Naruto, enveloping him completely. "Sand Burial."

As he said that, the fake Shukaku clenched it's hand and the sand surrounding Naruto instantly compressed, shattering all of his bones instantly.

"Not again, this can't be happening." Labrys said in disbelief.

"Do you really have so little trust in me Labrys?" Naruto asked mockingly. "I fought the real Gaara, so I can handle this guy."

'Naruto, I have an idea but I need you to let me take control.' Kurama said suddenly.

Got it, just make sure you're careful, Naruto thought.

Suddenly Naruto's eyes turned orange and his pupils turned foxlike.

"Naruto-kun?" Labrys asked hesitantly.

"Naruto is alright, but we'll need something stronger to take care of this fake Shukaku." Kurama said forming a tailed beast bomb in his hand. "Now then, Wind Style: Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken."

The moment he said that, Kurama threw the pitch-black shuriken at the fake Shukaku, instantly destroying it as the golden glow flew up towards the sky.

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"Look, over there." Chie said. "That must be one of the Shadow Operatives."

"Hold on, we should make sure this isn't another trap." Yu said. "Are you alright?"

"Huh, who are you?" asked the green haired girl.

"I'm Yu Narukami, are you one of Mitsuru-san's allies?" Yu asked.

"You know Mitsuru-san, I'm Fuuka Yamagishi." Fuuka said gasping. "Be careful."

Suddenly a kunai flew past Chie's head before hitting the wall.

"Not bad, but let's see just how skilled the four of you really are." said a fake Kakashi. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu."

"Tomoe, Bufula." Chie said quickly.

The moment her persona appeared, the fake Kakashi threw a kunai towards it causing it to disappear.

"No way, how did he do that?" Chie asked nervously.

"It doesn't matter how he did it, right now we need to take him down." Yu said. "Izanagi, Ziodyne."

Just before the bolt of lighting hit him, the fake Kakashi swapped places with a desk.

"Substitution jutsu, it's one of a ninja's most basic ninjutsu." the fake Kakashi said.

"That's really bad, how are we supposed to beat him now?" Yukiko asked nervously.

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'Naruto, do you sense that?' Kurama asked. 'That redhead from before is over there.'

Yeah, that fake Gaara must have been guarding her, Naruto thought. "I think there's someone else in here you guys."

"Another one, that's the last thing we need." the raikage said in annoyance.

"No, I think it's someone we can trust." Naruto said. "If I'm right it's Mitsuru."

"Mitsuru-san, if it's really her that means we're getting closer to rescuing those guys." Labrys said. "Let's split up and look for her."

"Right, if you find her send some kind of signal into the sky so the others can see it." Naruto said before they split up and went in different directions.

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Naruto and the others are climbing up the inside of this tower, Sasuke thought staring at Tarturus. "Well in that case I'll take the outside."

With those words Sasuke started running up the side of Tarturus.

"Not so fast." said a voice from above him before Sasuke froze in place.

"Why am I not surprised." Sasuke said. "So you must be the fake Shikamaru."

"Good guess, but even knowing that you don't have a chance of defeating me." the fake Shikamaru said while walking towards Sasuke. "Now then, Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu."

As he said that, the fake Shikamaru's shadow started climbing up towards Sasuke's throat.

"Not good enough, Amaterasu." Sasuke said as the black flames enveloped the fake Shikamaru.

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"I had a feeling I'd find you here, are you alright Mitsuru?" Naruto asked.

"Uzumaki, what are you doing here?" Mitsuru asked. "No, this situation involves you as much as it involves us."

"You're right, and the first thing is to get you down from there." Naruto said. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

As he said that, three clones appeared and helped Mitsuru get to her feett.

"Thank you, and I apologize for causing you so much trouble." Mitsuru said weakly.

"No, it's alright the important thing is that you're alright." Naruto said. "Now all we need to do is stop Sho."

'Naruto, the signal.' Kurama said calmly.

"Oh yeah." Naruto said before taking a kunai out of his pouch. "I hope the others can see this."

"See it, what are you talking about?" Mitsuru asked as Naruto through the kunai into the sky and it exploded. "I see, that certainly explains everything."

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"Fake or not, he's strong." Chie said nervously. "Do any of you have a plan?"

"I might have something in mind, but I'll need you three to distract him." Marie said.

"Alright, we'll do our best." Yu said. "Chie, Yukiko, let's hit her all at once."

"That sounds good, come Konohana Sakuya." Yukiko said. "Agidyne."

"Tomoe, Bufudyne." Chie said confidently.

"Come Izanagi, Ziodyne." Yu said before the three attacks combined into one hurtling straight towards the fake Kakashi.

"That isn't going to be enough to beat me." the fake Kakashi said substituting with another desk. "Now then, time for a different approach. Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

As he said that, a thick mist slowly enveloped the room.

"Oh man, now what are we supposed to do?" Chie asked.

"Just stay back, change." Yu said as Izangi transformed into Izanagi-No-Okami. "Magarudyne."

"Big mistake." the fake Kakashi said before running a kunai through Yu's chest.

"No, you're the one who's mistaken." Marie said. "I am Izanami-No-Mikoto, and you are not welcome in this town."

Suddenly a massive bolt of lighting struck the fake Kakashi, destroying him instantly.

"Yu, Konohana Sakuya Diarahan." Yukiko said quickly.

"Come on, let me help you down from there." Chie said running up to Fuuka.

"Thank you, I'm sorry to have been such a burden." Fuuka said apologetically.

"It's fine, we owe you for back in the TV world." Chie said. "Plus we never just sit around and let people suffer."

"She's right, we didn't do that last year and we won't do it this year either." Yu said calmly. "Now we just need to hope the others are having as much luck."

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"A shadow clone, not bad." Sasuke said. "Still that's far from enough to beat me."

"Maybe, but a straight fight wasn't ever my strong suit." the fake Shikamaru said calmly. "I'm the bait."

"What?" Sasuke asked just as a massive hand slammed him into the tower.

"Nice one Choji, now she has him just where she wants him." the fake Shikamaru said.

(Two of the Shadow Operatives have been rescued, but Sho Minazuki has nearly all the pieces for his plan. Next chapter Adachi and Yu will encounter each other. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)


	14. Reconvening part 1

"Fuuka, do you think you can see where the others are?" Yu asked calmly.

"I can try, whatever that was it was preventing me from using my persona." Fuuka said as Juno appeared around her. "Wait, there's someone coming this way."

"Great, another one of those fakes?" Chie asked.

"No, it's definitely a persona user." Fuuka said. "Except I don't recognize who it is."

"Wait but you already met all of us." Yukiko said. "How can there be a persona user you don't know?"

"Wait a second, there is one person." Yu said. "Fuuka can you do us a huge favor?"

"I can try, what is it?" Fuuka asked.

"I think our best bet is to get in touch with Rise, she has a similar power to yours so if we can meet up somewhere we might be able to get in touch with everyone in town." Yu said walking out of the room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Chie asked.

"I'm going to find out what he knows about all of this." Yu said calmly.

"Wait, Chie you don't think he's talking about him do you?" Yukiko asked suddenly.

"No way, he's in prison isn't he?" Chie asked nervously. "If he's working with Sho Minazuki we're in a lot more trouble."

"Excuse me, but who are you talking about?" Fuuka asked curiously.

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"Great, now what?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.

"Your death, how does that sound?" asked a voice from behind him.

"Now I remember, you three were skilled in team attacks." Saskue said turning to see a fake Ino as the fake Shikamaru and Choji appeared next to her.

"You're smarter than you look, but that's not going to help you in this fight." the fake Shikamaru said calmly. "Ino, Choji, let's take him down."

"Right, this won't take long at all." the fake Ino said confidently.

"We'll see about that, Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." Sasuke said quickly.

"Not so fast, Shadow Possession Jutsu." the fake Shikamaru said as his shadow caught Sasuke, trapping his movement. "Your turn Ino."

"Right, Ninja Art: Mind Destruction Jutsu." the fake Ino said only for an orange shield to appear in front of Sasuke, blocking the jutsu. (1)

"What the, where did that come from?" the fake Choji asked nervously.

"I don't know, but that won't be enough to beat us." the fake Ino said. "Choji shatter that shield."

"That's not going to happen." Sasuke said. "Amaterasu."

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"Mitsuru-san, are you alright?" Labrys asked nervously.

"I'll be fine, the important thing is to find the others and stop Sho Minazuki from achieving his goals."

"_Hello, Rise-san can you hear me?" asked a voice into their minds._

"That voice, Yamagishi what's going on?" Mitsuru said suddenly.

"_Mitsuru-san, you're safe." Fuuka said. "That's such a relief."_

"Yes, and it seems you've been rescued as well." Mitsuru said. "Now then, where are you? We should work on regrouping as quickly as possible."

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"Oh boy, what a pleasant surprise." Adachi said sarcastically. "Of all the people in this tower I end up bumping into you."

"Enough with the act, just what's going on around here Adachi?" Yu asked.

"You think I have any more clue than you do, I mean it's not like I'm involved." Adachi said. "I already told you that I would abide by the rules of the world so stop blaming me for that kids mess."

"Adachi I know that you know more than you're telling me." Yu said. "All I'm asking is what it is that you've learned, it could be the key to stopping him."

"Oh man, so now you need my help." Adachi said. "Well, if you must know I did overhear one little thing. Something about gathering persona fragments and shadows to ensure the end of the world, you did know that when persona users fight small pieces of their persona breaks apart right?"

"What do you mean break apart how is that even possible?" Yu asked.

"I don't know, all I do know is that these fragments are part of some kind of big plan to destroy the world." Adachi said. "That's all I know."

"If that's true then why don't you help us stop him?" Yu asked. "We could use your help."

"That sounds good, but I'm really not interested in getting involved at all." Adachi said lazily. "I'm sure your little group of friends can take care of this, I'll just stay out of your way."

Suddenly a shark made of water crashed into the wall next to them.

"I suppose that got your attention, now then which one of you wants to die first?" asked a fake Kisame while drawing his sword.

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"Naruto-kun, can I talk to you about something?" Labrys asked suddenly.

"Sure, what's on your mind Labrys-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it's Sho." Labrys said. "I couldn't tell before but I'm almost certain now that he has a plume of dusk."

"Wait, isn't that what gives you and Aigis your personalities?" Naruto asked. "Why would he have one?"

"I don't know, but it would explain his two personalities." Labrys said. "One is his real personality and the other one is from the plume of dusk."

"In that case the three of us all have something in common." Naruto said. "He has two personalities, you have your shadow, and I have Kurama."

'Thanks for the kind words Naruto, I'm glad to know how you feel.' Kurama said sarcastically.

You know what I meant; we all have a second voice that's always with us trying to help however they can, Naruto thought.

"Naruto, Labrys, hurry up or we'll leave you in here." Kanji said in annoyance.

"Right, we'll be there in a second." Naruto said. "If you're right Labrys we should let him know he isn't really alone."

"You're right, let's go." Labrys said calmly.

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"This is bad, he's way too strong for us." the fake Choji said jumping away from another fireball.

"I know, and as long as he has that shield our formations won't work." the fake Shikamaru said. "We need a plan."

"I know, and I might have an idea." the fake Ino said. "Choji, use the partial expansion jutsu on your arms."

"Right." the fake Choji said increasing the size of his arms.

"Now block the light." the fake Ino said with a smirk.

"I get it, not bad Ino." the fake Shikamaru said. "Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu."

Got you, Sasuke thought confidently.

"Choji, take care of him." the fake Shikamaru said confidently.

"Right, time to die." the fake Choji said slamming his hands together on Sasuke, killing him instantly.

"You might want to pay more attention." Sasuke said suddenly before launching two Chidoris through the fake Shikamaru and Choji. "Substitution Jutsu, the simplest technique a shinobi learns."

"Darn, oh well this was a drag anyway." the fake Shikamaru said before disappearing as three separate golden lights flew up towards the top of the tower.

"Alright, now which way is it from here?" Sasuke asked calmly.

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"He's been gone for a while, you don't think he's in trouble do you?" Chie asked.

"I don't know, Fuuka-chan, can you tell us if Yu is alright?" Yukiko asked.

"I can try." Fuuka said closing her eyes. "Oh my, he's fighting someone."

"Can you tell if it's him?" Marie asked calmly. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"There are three people there, but I only recognize Yu." Fuuka said.

"That settles it, let's go Yukiko." Chie said quickly.

"I'm right behind you Chie." Yukiko said as the two girls ran out of the room.

"We should go too, do you have enough strength back?" Marie asked.

"I'll be alright, thank you." Fuuka said quietly.

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"This tower is quite impressive, I suggest we prepare for anything once we enter." Naoto said calmly.

"You can say that again, still the others have to be in there somewhere." Yosuke said.

"You're right, I sense several individuals inside this tower." Kabuto said calmly. "Well shall we?"

"Right, let's keep moving." Sakura said walking into Tarturus.

"I can't let such a lovely lady run headfirst into danger." Teddie said running in front of Sakura. "I'll protect you with my life."

"Don't be an idiot Teddie." Yosuke said. "We both know that you'll be fine, and Sakura can take care of herself if what Naoto said is any clue."

"It's fine, thanks for saying that Teddie." Sakura said with a small smile. "To be honest you remind me of Naruto when we first became a team."

"Oh yeah, now that I think about you're right." Tenten said with a smile. "He does act similar doesn't he?"

"It's more than that, Ted are you wearing your suit?" Yosuke asked. "The one with the rose I mean."

"Yup, I always am, see." Teddie said taking off the top of his bear outfit revealing himself to be a blonde boy with blue eyes.

"You weren't kidding, that's incredible." Sakura said in amazement.

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"This is great, so do you have any shark repellant?" Adachi asked ducking under the fake Kisame's sword.

"No, but I do have something." Yu said. "Izanagi, Ziodyne."

"Nice try, but that won't work on me." the fake Kisame said blocking the lighting bolt with his sword.

"Alright, let's try this." Adachi said. "Magatsu Izanagi, Magarudyne."

The moment Adachi said that, his persona formed several tornados around the fake Kisame, sending him flying into the wall.

"Thanks." Yu said.

"Don't thank me yet, this guy isn't beaten yet." Adachi said.

"Look out Yu, come Tomoe." Chie said quickly as her persona appeared and launched a blast of ice towards Adachi.

"Wait, he's not our enemy this time." Yu said quickly.

"He may not be, but I'm more than capable of taking all four of you down at once." the fake Kisame said. "Now then, Water Style: Giant Water Shockwave."

The moment the fake Kisame said that, he began creating massive amounts of water, flooding the entire area.

"I hate to break it to you, but we can use electricity remember." Adachi said sarcastically. "Magatsu Izanagi, Maziodyne."

"That won't work on me." the fake Kisame said jumping off of the water. "Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu."

"Konohana Sakuya, Agidyne." Yukiko said quickly as the flames hit the shark causing it to evaporate.

"Nice try, but that was just a distraction." the fake Kisame said before turning into water.

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"What is this, some kind of bridge?" Sasuke asked noticing a figure in the distance. "Who's there?"

"I'm impressed you noticed me, of course it's going to take more than that to win this fight." said a fake Lee. "This is where your life is forfeit."

"I severely doubt that." Sasuke said calmly. "Now then who's that over there?"

"Her, don't concern yourself with that worthless machine." the fake Lee said. "Your opponent is in front of you, Leaf Hurricane."

Just before the first kick hit, Sasuke disappeared and threw a shuriken into the fake Lee's arm.

"I've seen all Lee's techniques already, you can't surprise me by taking his form." Sasuke said calmly.

"Is that so, well perhaps we should put that to the test." the fake Lee said. "The First Gate: Gate of Opening, open."

The moment the fake Lee said that, he sprinted towards Sasuke and kicked him into the air.

This again, Sasuke thought. "Not this time."

With those words, Sasuke's Susanoo appeared around him.

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"I think that's far enough wouldn't you say?" asked General Teddie as he appeared in front of the raikage and Mitsuru. "You've caused nothing but trouble so it's about time I put an end to this."

"Are you kidding, there's absolutely no way you can beat all of us." the raikage said calmly.

"Maybe, but then again you won't know until after our battle." General Teddie said calmly. "Persona."

"I tried to warn you, I guess you'll have to learn the hard way." the raikage said activating his lightning armor. "Lariat."

The moment he said that, the raikage ran towards General Teddie at incredible speeds and slammed his arm into his head, hurtling him into the wall.

"Not bad, but not good enough." General Teddie said getting back up. "Bufudyne."

"Not this time, Artemisia." Mitsuru said before her persona intercepted the attack.

"Nice, I've got him." Naruto said. "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken."

"What?" General Teddie asked as the powerful jutsu collided with him sending him flying down the hallway.

"Did that take care of him?" Mitsuru asked.

"No, but I found some of the others, they're above us." Rise said. "We should meet up with them and try to find the others."

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"What is that thing?" the fake Lee asked nervously.

"This is the Susanoo, the strongest power of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke said before a sword of black fire appeared in one of the Susanoo's hands. "I don't have time to waste on this."

"No, I refuse to let you intimidate me." the fake Lee said angrily. "The second gate: Gate of Rest, open. Now the third, Gate of Life open."

"Now I remember, those are the eight inner gates that Kakashi told me about." Sasuke said. "This might actually be interesting."

As Sasuke said that, the fake Lee started moving at rapid speeds attacking the Susanoo.

"Inferno Style: Flame Control Sword." Sasuke said as the Susanoo swung the sword of fire only to have the fake Lee jump over the sword.

"The fourth gate: Gate of Pain, open. Now to finish you, the fifth gate: Gate of Closing, open." the fake Lee said punching a hole through the Susanoo's eye. (2)

"That was your last mistake." Sasuke said. "Chidori."

At the speed he was going, the fake Lee didn't have enough time to dodge and landed on Sasuke's chidori.

"That was your last mistake." the fake Lee said before turning into gold lights and flying off into the sky.

"Alright, now that that's taken care of let's see who that is over there." Sasuke said calmly.

(The battle with the fake shinobi and persona users is continuing, and two of the shadow operatives have been rescued. Next chapter the other two shadow operatives will be rescued. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)

(1) (The Mind Transfer Jutsu utilizes chakra to transmit Ino's mind, or in this case the fake Ino's mind, and so the shield from Itachi's Susanoo could block it.)

(2) (The eye sockets of the Susanoo are significantly weaker than any other point in the body. It still took an incredible amount of force, but the fake Lee was able to break through.)


End file.
